Locked Up
by twiXlite
Summary: Edward Cullen is behind bars for a crime he didn't commit. And of course, he's top dog. What happens when Bella becomes the new psychiatrist on the wing he rules? Will there be sparks between them, or will he lock her out just like everyone else? ExB
1. The Top Dog

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.**

_**I know that this isn't one of the stories I promised to write, but this is one that I've had floating around my brain. Don't worry, I'm not going to take any attention away from my other stories, and I can tell you that the next chapter of Alive Again is working itself out. This one has been hard to write, because it's so emotional, and it got a bit overwhelming, so I took a break and this started to write itself. I thought it was okay, so I decided to post it. Let me know what you think.**_

_**This is a little outside what I've done before and there is a lot of foul-language, violence and anything else you can think of, probably going to present itself in this story. If you're not into anything like that, then don't read.**_

_**It's an M for a reason.**_

_**Edward**_

Nine hundred and twelve days, thirteen and a half hours, give or take half an hour or so.

Not that I'm fucking counting or anything.

Roughly counting, that's two and a half fucking years.

Two and a half fucking years I've been behind bars for something I didn't do.

Two and a half years protesting my fucking innocence and no one believing a fucking word I have to say. Why does no one fucking listen?!

If they did, then they'd have the fucker that deserved to be in here. Not even I knew who it was. And that just proved to bring me even more bullshit than before.

Because of what happened two and a half years ago, I'm stuck in his shithole, for the next decade or so, and there's not jackshit anyone can do about it. The fact that my family don't even want piss-all to do with me, because they too think I'm guilty, doesn't help my case any.

They were what, half a shitting hour away. If that, and they hadn't come to see me the whole time I was here. Well, that was a lie. My twin sister Alice had come to see me a couple of times, but my parents didn't like her coming to see me, when she was younger, so they had put some sort of fucking ultimatum on her. Either she didn't see me, or she would be excluded from the family. Just as I was. Never mind that I was fucking innocent.

She didn't really listen to them, but her visits became even less frequent than they had before. I knew it wasn't because she didn't care, but she needed the support of the family. She couldn't do without it. She was attending college and had told me that as soon as she was done with it, not needing to rely on our parents anymore, she was going to set them straight. Tell them how she had been coming to see me, and that there was no way they would be able to stop her from doing so.

Whether or not, she'll do that, I have no fucking clue, but what the hell, I can always hope that I'll have my twin on side.

Suddenly, the ugly green door to the tiny, plain grey segregation cell I was in was unlocked and swung open.

"Come on, Cullen." The P.O. letting me back on the main wing said forcefully. I rolled my eyes and stood up, walking out of the cell, following the screw back to the wing. "You know, if you could just keep yourself out of fights then you wouldn't end up in here so much."

"Whatever." I mumbled, not really caring about what the fucker in front of me wanted. "Got nothing else to do, do I?"

He didn't answer, but gave me a tired look that told me he didn't want to hear it. Like I gave a fuck what he wanted. He chose to be in here, day after fucking day. And he was getting paid for it. If he didn't want to be looking after fuck-ups like me then he shouldn't have become a bloody prison officer then should he? Nope!

Besides, winning any kind of fight, contest or whatever in here proves that you're on top.

Even though I didn't deserve to be in here, it didn't mean that I was wasting my time in here. I was the top dog in here and it was going to stay that way. I had no intention of letting that title get away from me. There have been many who've tried over the two years I've been in this shithole. This last spell on the block was the result of the latest challenger. Well, actually, he was kind of an ongoing challenger. He'd been here a month and thought that because he was here, he was in charge. Sorry, fucker! This is my wing. And. I. Don't. Share. He was worse off. He was in the infirmary. Or at least he was last time I heard.

I followed the screw through the desolate and dismal corridors that led onto the wing. The corridors were lined with posters that were supposed to be carrying 'inspiring messages'. It all sounded like conspiracy bullshit to me. There was one, glaring at me as I waited for the officer to open the barred gate that would lead us down the next identical corridor. 'You can make it on your own!' What a load of bullshit that was. Even the most successful people in the world needed help off someone. Whether it be a bank, or a friend or whatever. Nobody has really got anywhere without enlisting the help of _someone_ at some point or another.

Call me a 'glass is half empty' pessimistic, condescending type of guy, but that's just the way my mind works. The motto 'Life's a bitch and then you die.' Springs to mind whenever I walk through these dingy, dank corridors. I swear the aspestos should have killed most of us by now. Either that or the food should have.

"Lunch has just started. Try not to start a fight, Cullen." He smirked as he walked off to the screws office, locking the barred door behind him. It wasn't an 'I've just got one up on you' smirk, it was more of a 'please do and then we can get rid of you for another week' smirk. The screws hated me because I undermined their authority and the inmates on the wing paid more attention to what I said and thought than that of the screws. It was quite amusing actually, watching the screws stew over to handle the wing, when no one even listens to them anyway.

"God, I hate this fucking place." I mumbled to myself, walking over to the line forming over at the tiny whole in the wall that offered the crap this place called fucking food. It was a wonder that none of us had died from starvation or fucking food poisoning yet.

"Back off the block, are we, Eddie?" Came the voice of the only bastard in this place I could trust. The only one I knew wasn't going to fuck me over.

"Shut the fuck up, Jasper." I mumbled as he walked up behind me. Just because he was pretty much my 'second in command' as it were, didn't mean I didn't insult him. He gave as good as he got.

"Sorry, you moody fucker." He mumbled back. See what I mean? Gives as good as he gets.

"Basic bloody rations for a week, Jazz." I shot back, grabbing the plate that had been filled for me, before sitting down at the table Jasper and I always sat at. Everyone knew not to sit there. It just wasn't done. Even the dumb fucks in this shithole were smarter than that. "You work it out."

"You know, if you kept yourself out of trouble, you wouldn't get sent down the block so much." Jasper laughed and I smirked at him, taking a gulp of water from the crappy plastic mug they gave, wishing like fuck it was something stronger.

"Now where's the fun in that?" I smirked and he shook his head, laughing.

"You know, looking at you, you wouldn't think that you didn't deserve to be in here." He said, his tone serious. He was one of the only ones in here that believed my story. That I wasn't meant to be in here. But then again, who was I to care? It kept me on top, where I wanted to be.

"Yeah, well." I mumbled, taking a bite of the crappy sandwich they were passing off as lunch. I swear, if the food in this place got any worse, we'd be eating cardboard. Actually, I think the cardboard was more nutritional than this shit. "If they were going to listen to me, then they would have done at my pissing trial, wouldn't they?"

"That's some true shit." He mumbled. "Maybe at your appeal?"

I hummed in response, taking a bite of a very questionable looking sandwich. It was better than what I'd been living off for the past week. Marginally. So I wasn't going to complain. I just wished they'd employ someone who could actually cook. But then again, why let the prison population have a decent supply of food?

"Well, lookie who's back off the block." A sing-song voice called as someone walked up behind me. Someone who was obviously feeling very cocky and sure of himself. Someone who obviously needed knocking back down to size. _Again._

I rolled my eyes at the voice as Jasper smirked and stood up slowly, turning to face the person standing behind me. "Well, lookie who's back from the infirmary." I taunted back, in the same tone that he'd used. "What do you want, James? We've already played this game, and if I remember… you lost." I sighed dramatically, which the others knew was a bad sign. James was a newbie though, determined to make his mark on the wing. "Now, why don't you … stop this pathetic little attempt at being the big man, and run back to your cell with your tail between your pissing legs."

"You think you're the big man, don't you, Cullen?" He hissed, his voice shaking slightly. I might not be resposible for what I was in here for, but hell, I knew how to use my fists when I needed to.

I heard and saw people swivelling in chairs to see what was going on between the two of us. I could see from behind Daniels that people were smirking and watching on with interest. They always found stand-offs like this amusing and interesting. The fact that Daniels, who was almost a head shorter than me, lanky and pathetic, was volleying for top dog was more than amusing. Even to me. Even though he had no chance of knocking me off of my top spot, he was seriously pissing me off. He was like a little terrier that wouldn't go away.

"No." I shook my head. "I know I am. I'm top dog and the sooner you get that into your tiny little skull, the better it'll be for you." I smirked, stepping closer to him. "You see, I'm in here for the long haul. It doesn't matter to me how many times I get sent down the block. But I don't think you'll be wanting to spend most of your time banged up in the infirmary will ya', Daniels?"

"They'll just ship you out." He said, a smile appearing on his face. He thought that if he kept this up, I'd just, what, step aside? Not a chance in friggin' hell.

"No, they won't." I smirked, knowing that the only way I'd be getting out of here would be if I put in for a transfer and it was accepted. That wasn't likely to happen, so it seemed I was here for the remainder of my sentence. However the fuck long that may be. "Because you see, each fuck-up prison in this country wants to show how tough it is. And by doing so, it keeps all the complete fuck-ups like me on, just to show that they can handle us. If anyone gets shipped out, Daniels, it'll be you. Because they'll be worried for your safety." I tilted my head in a condescending way. "Poor widdle thing." I smirked when I saw the look of fear flash through his eyes. He knew what my fists could do, and he didn't want to chance it again. _Good boy._ I thought, smirking. He wouldn't challenge me to a physical fight again. Not too soon anyway.

"Cullen!" I rolled my eyes at the fucking screws, all standing by their office door, ready to break up the fight that hadn't started yet. "Daniels!"

One of the screws on duty this time of day walked over to us, pushing us apart. He pushed Daniels away from me, standing in between us.

"Just can't help throwing your weight around, can you, Cullen?" He moaned, watching me for any 'unfriendly behaviour' that could and probably _would_ get me sent back down the block.

"Nope." I replied, popping the "p" as I sat back down, facing a smirking Jasper.

"The new psych's gonna have a fucking field day with you, dude." Jasper laughed as he finished his food.

"'New' psych?" I asked, feeling my brow furrowing in confusion. _We have a psych in this fucked-up excuse for a priso?._ "We have a psych in the first place?"

"Apparently so." He shrugged. "Apparently, they've employed a psych for every wing. I've not spoken to her yet. Apparently she's going through the 'established hierarchy' as they call it. You know, the pecking order."

"That'll be a fucking laugh." I snorted as we stood up and headed over to dump our trays before heading up to my cell.

"Yeah." He chuckled as we made our way up the stairs. "Hell, she'll need a whole fucking week just to deal with you."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" I asked, feigning insult. I knew he was only pissing about, but that's beside the point.

"Well, apparently, she's asking a lot about you." He told me, his tone trying to prove that he was the fruit of all knowledge whilst I'd been on seg.

"Shit." I mumbled, not really caring, as I flopped down on my bed. "Like what?"

Jasper sat on the end of my bed. When there was nothing to do, we spent most of our time in my cell. Seeing as I was a lifer, I had my own cell, seeing as I could be seen as a danger to others. Right! I was only a danger to others when they fucked me about or messed with my shit.

"I don't know." He shrugged, folding his hands behind his head and leaning on the wall behind him.

"Come on, Hale." I kicked him gently and he scowled at me for using his last name. He knew that I only did it to wind him up, but he also knew that I only used the last name for people I hated or was really pissed off with at the time. "You gotta know something."

"Well, what I do know is that if she's following the right pecking order, then you'll be the last one she sees." He smirked at me. "She spoke to Daniels last week." I couldn't help but laugh. "If she's going through the pecking order then she sees that even with all of his nipping at your heels, he's still way down there in the grand scheme of things."

"In here at least." I chuckled and Jasper smirked at me.

At that point the door opened and the fucking screw from earlier poked his head in, nudging his finger out the door. "Lock up. Out Hale."

"Well." Jasper said sitting up. "I do know that she's been here since the day you got sent down the block and she's already made her way through most of the fuckers on this wing. Looks like we're up soon."

"Right." I rolled my eyes.

"Out, Hale!" The screw was getting pissed now and he stared at me menacingly as Jazz made his way out of my cell as if it was my fault he was stuck in this punk-ass job.

I tilted my head at him in mock confusion. "Problem, _sir_?" I emphasised the 'sir', letting him know that I was being condescending and patronising. He was new, so there was no point in letting him off easy. It was best for him to know early on who it was who really ran this wing. And let me tell you.

It's not the fucking screws that's for sure.

He gave me a condescending look and slammed the door shut. I rolled my eyes and flopped back down on my bed, reaching over and picking up the latest book I'd scammed from the library. Not a lot of people inside read, or at least that I've found. I must have been one of the only ones that actually used the library for its intended purpose. Everyone else just used it as a way of either communicating with the other wings or transporting something in or out of the prison, using the Interlibrary loans shit.

Not that I gave a fuck. It's not like anything I did in here could come back to me. Nothing in here ever came back to me.

I'd gotten about half way through the book when the door was swung open again.

"Up, Cullen!" One of the older screws, Norton, ordered. She was still pissed at me for the fight between Daniels and I. She was the one that put faith in me that I would be able to keep myself off the block for at least a decent amount of time. The fact that I hadn't increased her disappointment in me. "Work."

"Hello, to you too." I rolled my eyes scarcastically, pulling on my chucks. I stood up and walked past her, throwing her a smile as I did so. It was a smile that told her I knew that she was pissed and I didn't give a fuck. Hey, I'm stuck in here, they're here by choice. Why make it easy for them?

I made my way out to the garden, raising my arms out, ready for searching.

"Hey, watch the hands." I mumbled as they made their way down my legs. I don't know why they searched you on the way out. There's not really anything you can smuggle out. Smuggling in was the way you have to watch out for. It's ridiculous.

The last time someone managed to smuggle something in, a screw got stabbed with a bit of garden pole, so I guess that might be the reason behind the 'stick-up-your-arse' excuse for security.

They, as usual, found nothing on me, as if I'd be that stupid, and let me through.

"Oi oi, Cullen!" Another prisoner, Jacob Black called, jogging over to me.

"Alright, Jake!" Personally, I was surprised he was on garden duty. But then again, I guess they don't want him anywhere near anything flammable. Being in for arson will get you those restrictions. I guess, they thought that he would be better with the shears and pointy sticks over the thinks that make fire.

Odd sense of logic, but then again when you're a screw, I guess the whole world is topsy-turvy.

"Saw your little show at lunch earlier." He grinned. He hated Daniels almost as much as I did. And, like me, he made so secret about it. Jacob, like Jasper, was behind me. He was kind of my 'third in command' as it were. And I knew it wasn't because of all the 'privileges' that came with being in the 'top dog's inner circle' as the other inmates had dubbed it, it was because he really hated the guy I'd bumped off the top dog spot.

Jake had been in here for a while. I'm not sure how long, but he would have been out by now, that is if he'd been on his best behaviour – which he clearly wasn't – and if the house he torched hadn't had an old man inside. In his defense, he didn't know the old man was in there. He'd just thought that he house looked like fun to torch. Whatever the fuck goes on in his screwed up mind, I'll never know. Anyway, he's in here for a good few years yet. Not that you'd know. By his energy and enthusiasm about everything, you'd think he was a newbie. As annoying as his upbeatness … upbeatedness … whatever! His happy moods, okay! As annoying as they are, he's been a good mate in here. And lord knows, you need them whilst in this shithole.

"I think everyone saw that." I smirked, knowing that Daniels would be getting it for ' attempting to provoke me into a reaction'. Something he'd been told time and time again over the short amount of time that he'd been in here. You'd think that he'd understand by now. But no…that little shite just won't quit.

"That your plan?" He asked as we grabbed the tools we needed from the shed at the end of the small garden that belonged to our wing. We set the tools, leaning against the side of the shed and shrugged on the heavy duty jackets they expected us to wear when out here. Why, I don't know, nor do I give a flying fuck usually, but it's the middle of June for christs' sake. It's fucking boiling. Maybe that's why they want us to wear them. So we die of heatstroke. Wouldn't bloody well surprise me.

"I didn't want to start anything." I defended myself, albeit, not in a very convincing way. Truth is, going several rounds with Daniels was amusing and it distracted me for a little while each time.

"Yeah, right." He scoffed and I scowled at him. He knew that it wasn't serious though. If it had been serious, I would have glared at him and he would have shut up instantly. On the contrary, he continued to laugh. "You wanted a showdown with him as much as he wanted it."

"Maybe so." I shrugged. "Oh, and Jake. Nobody calls it a showdown. Not unless you're in some fucked up western."

He shrugged, grinning at me. "So, you met with the new psych yet?"

I shook my head as we walked. "Jazz mentioned something about her earlier." I shrugged. "Not met her yet though. Have you?"

"Yeah, this morning, while you were still on the block." He nodded as he started shovelling the shit we were expected to move.

"And?"

"She's cute." He shrugged. "If you like that sort of thing." He looked up at me and grinned.

I rolled my eyes at him, smirking. "Well, Jake, newsflash, but most of us in here _do_ like that sort of thing. It's just you that doesn't."

"That may be true, but you know what?" I looked up at him and saw him grinning. "I don't give a tiny rat's ass."

"Thought that would be your answer." I smirked, getting back to shovelling shit, as we were expected to do. "Always is."

"She asked about you, you know?" He said, looking up and obviously trying to judge my reaction.

"Jasper said the same thing." I stuck the blade of the shovel in my hand into the ground, leaning on it. "I wonder what the hell's going on. He said that she'd been asking people about me."

"Maybe she wants to know what she's getting herself into before she meets the big bad." He sniggered and I shook my head laughing.

"Maybe." I looked out over the others working in the garden with us. "She's still gonna get a fucking surprise though."

"Wouldn't expect anything less." Jacob chuckled, his gazr following mine.

"Cullen!" Someone shouted my name and I rolled my eyes at Jacob, who was still grinning like a maniac. Well, despite the fact that to most he _is_ a maniac, but still, that's not the point. I turned around to see Norton, my personal officer – bully for me, right? – standing there motioning me towards her. I looked at Jacob and shrugged, indicating that he didn't know what I'd done as much as I did.

I propped the shovel that I'd been using up against a fence and walked over to her.

"Come on." She motioned for me to follow her, turning around. I looked at Jacob, who was watching on with curiosity and amusement. He shrugged and I followed her out of the garden, taking off the sodding jacket and handing it to one of the guards on duty. They searched me again on the way in and I was met on the other side of the gate by Norton. She could obviously see my curious expression as I approached because she gave me a grin. "New psych wants to see you."

"Whoopie." I muttered without enthusiasm and much sarcasm.

"Come on, Cullen." She rolled her eyes at me. "Show a bit more enthusiasm."

"Why?" I asked, disdain lacing my tone. "All it is is someone trying to ascertain certain answers by asking a load of questions that lead to nothing except sincere bollocks."

"You know, that would have been a very intelligent sentence, if it weren't for the bollocks on the end." She smirked back at me and I rolled my eyes again. I seemed to be doing that a lot today. Must be some sort of quota they want me to fill seeing as I'd been on seg for the past week.

"What can I say? Some of the most profound sayings come from complete bullshit." I countered and she snorted a laugh. Yup, she snorted. How very fucking lady-like. Then again, working in a prison like she does, she can't really be expected to be all dainty and breakable, can she? No, Norton can hold her own in a fight. Which is most likely why she's _my_ personal officer as opposed to anyone else's. Considering the circumstances.

"That may be so, but still, curb the language a little while you're in there. She's new to the whole prison scene." She looked me up and down in a condescending way. "Why she wants to see you, I have no idea."

"What? Beyond help, am I?"

"Too bloody right." She chuckled, taking out her keys as we walked back into the main building.

I followed her down the drab and dingy corridors that branched off to each wing. I noticed that we weren't going back onto the wing I was placed on, but in the direction of the visiting rooms.

"She didn't want to be disturbed when she was talking to any of you lot." Norton explained, somehow sensing my slight confusion,

"Has she spoken to _everyone_ then?" I asked, stopping behind her as she unlocked one of the many doors we would have to pass through to get to where we were going.

"Everyone except you." She looked back at me, smirking. "She's made her way through the whole wing, starting with the terrified little newbies all the way, to the top dog." She looked me up and down again, this time with a slight look of admiration in her eyes. "I think she'll need someone in with her though."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, feiging hurt.

"With the others, the guards' waited outside because they know that, well, they hope that she'll be alright. But knowing you and your temper." She looked back at me, smirking, but her eyes were filled with disappointment. I knew why. Each time I fucked up, or fucked someone else up and landed myself down the block, it reflected badly on her. Like I gave a shit. "She'll have to have someone in there with her. Make sure she's safe."

"I don't hit women." I grumbled behind her.

"Tell that to your fiancee." She shot back quietly and I wondered if she meant for me to hear that. I gritted my teeth. "I forgot. We don't have a medium on call, do we?"

"Well, let's put it this way, if I _did_ I would have shown you my real feelings about you long ago." I sneered, my teeth still gritted. She _had_ to bring up the whole Tanya thing, didn't she?

"Like to see you try." She mumbled, looking back at me.

"Would you?" I raised my eyebrows at her and she looked me up and down again. "I mean, if you had a dick, I wouldn't have a problem with showing you, but my mama raised me right." I mimicked Jasper's southern drawl at the last part. "I've never laid a hand on a woman, and that _includes_ Tanya."

"Well, the evidence shows otherwise, doesn't it?" I could hear the condescending smirk in her tone as we walked and I stopped.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" I asked, wondering why she was being such a bitch today. Normally, Norton was one of the more manageable screws. One of the easiest to get along with. She may be a screw, but there was something about her that you could just get along with.

"Move it, Cullen!" A masculine voice said from behind me, whilst someone, probably the owner of the voice, gave me a shove from behind. "Get it going."

"Alright, alright. Keep your fucking panties on, will ya?" I mumbled as I started walking after Norton again, who this time, had stopped outside a door and was holding it open for me.

I rolled my eyes and walked into the room, glancing around.

I saw that there was a single table in the room. This must be one of the individual visiting rooms, used for when family or friends of inmates want a more private chat. On the table was a tape recorder, a large pad of paper and a few pens and pencils. I looked around and saw who must be the psych that everyone was talking about, standing, staring out of one of the dirt-encrusted windows that don't allow you to see a foot in front of your own flippin' nose.

"Miss Swan." Norton called quietly and the woman at the window turned around.

She was pretty. Actually, that's a lie. She was fucking beautiful.

She was tiny, probably between five foot four and five foot seven-ish, if my guess is correct, taking out the monstrous heels that I could see she was wearing. Those things must be killing her feet. Why women put themselves through such shit just to look different, I had no idea. Bloody pointless if you ask me. She had pale skin, clear, like porcelain, that was stretched over a heart shaped face and tiny button nose. _What the fuck?! 'Tiny button nose'. Get a grip, Cullen!_

Her lips were slightly out of proportion, the top slightly larger than it should have been, but instead of making them unattractive, it made them seem even more irresistable. In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to see if they were as soft on my lips as they looked. I hadn't even felt that way about Tanya, and that freaked me out.

Above all else, it was her eyes that encaptured my attention more than anything else. They were a deep chocolate brown with more depth to them than I had ever seen before. Normally, brown eyes were flat and lifeless, but the eyes belonging to this woman were so deep and entrancing, it was like I was falling into an unknown place. Somewhere I could spend most of, if not all of, my time and not get bored or irritated. They were eyes that held many secrets. Secrets that I was just itching to uncover.

She walked towards me, a small smile appearing on her lips as she took in my appearance. Either she liked what she saw or she was happy to finally be meeting the top dog she had been asking about.

"Edward Cullen, I presume." Her voice was slightly deeper than I would have thought looking at her. It was deep and slightly husky, but I found it suited her perfectly. She stopped in front of me, holding out her hand. "Isabella Swan, but like everyone else, you can call me Bella."

I looked down at her hand and back up at her, not taking it. Giving her a bored look.

She put her hand down, sighing, obviously seeing that I didn't want to be here. Well, I didn't want to be in this situation. Being anywhere with _her_ wasn't the issue. Personally, I'd like to forego the 'therapy session' or whatever the fuck this was, and strip her completely. Thank fuck I've got such great control or I'd be standing at attention right now. That could be a tad embarrassing.

"You can leave us now, thank you." She said, glancing over my shoulder before looking back at me as I sat down in the chair across from the one she obviously occupied.

"I don't think so, Miss Swan." Norton argued and I rolled my eyes.

"Why ever not?" She asked, clearly confused. "I've had all the other inmates in here and they've been perfectly fine."

"Well, Cullen, here is not like the other inmates." Norton explained, or at least thought she was explaining. "He's got a very quick temper and will more than likely use his fists than his tongue."

_If only she knew what I had been imagining doing with my tongue for the last few minutes._ I thought, my eyes glued to this 'Miss Swan' standing in front of me.

"From what I've heard, Mr. Cullen, here is very articulate." She argued, and I furrowed my eyebrows at her. Well, she wasn't going to be experiencing that now. I'd found that the best way to get a shrink off your back is not to say a word. They think you're either profoundly stupid, or being difficult and either way, they give up pretty quickly. Having seen a fair few after … what happened … I know this and I know how to get around them.

"Well, we don't want to take that chance." Norton argued again and I rolled my eyes again.

"I know that you feel like I am most likely in some form of danger, but I assure you, I don't believe that and I believe that I will be fine. If I need you, I will shout, but I feel, as with the others, you should wait outside." She finished and I smirked when Norton didn't give an argument. I could imagine her standing there opening and closing her mouth like a demented fish.

"Alright." She sighed angrily. Probably not with this 'Miss Swan' but because of the fact that she hadn't won the argument.

_Sucks to be you._ I thought as she closed the door behind her, grumbling to herself. It sounded something like 'bloody shrinks and their mind games'. From what I had gotten from the short conversation/argument/disagreement, whatever you want to call it, no mind games had been played. Only an opinion given and a promise made. Not a mind game in sight … or sound … whatever.

"Right." She sighed, sitting down in front of me as I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms over my chest. "Now that she's gone, let's begin, shall we?" She smiled at me and I returned it with a smirk.

_Yes._ I thought, amused. _Lets._

_**What do you think?**_

_**Hit? Miss?**_

_**Love? Hate?**_

_**Let me know.**_


	2. The Psych

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER.**

_**Bella**_

I was woken up, yet again and some ungodly hour, knowing that I had to get up.

This was one of the only drawbacks I saw about my new job. Of course, everyone else, such as my father, best friends and such could see other drawbacks. Such as being surrounded ten hours a day my convicted felons.

But to me, they weren't that.

They were so much more.

Something had to have driven them to commit the crimes that they had. Something in their lives had to have happened for them to stoop to such levels. I mean, over the last week, I had seen and spoken to drug addicts and kleptomaniacs, embezzlers and murderers. And I still had one question hanging over my head.

_Why_?

Why did they become these things?

Granted, an all male prison might not be the best place for a twenty-seven year old woman to be working, but it fascinated me. The people locked inside fascinated me.

"Morning, sunshine!" I heard the battle cry of my tiny little pixie friend before I saw her. Or felt her that is.

Jumping up and down on me. Not just on my bed. On _me._ She might be small, but she hurts when she jumps up and down.

"Alice!" I moaned as she giggled and jumped. "Get lost!"

"No way." She said defiantly, stopping her jumping but remaining sitting on me. "Didn't you mention that today a certain top dog gets off segregation?" She mused and I wondered if that was a genuine musing or whether it was a technique to get me out of bed.

Whatever it was, it worked.

"You're right, Ali." I said, sitting up and frightening her, which in itself is a very difficult thing to do.

I had been working at the Eclipse prison for a week and there was one inmate I had yet to talk with or even see. I had two more to talk to before I reached him, but knowing who he was would be nice. Or at least a starting point.

Edward Cullen.

His name had been constantly mentioned throughout the week and he was very clearly top dog on the wing I had been assigned to. According to some of the female prison officers, he was quite the looker as well.

I'd been warned not to let him 'draw me in', as he had been known to do before. Apparently, he could work the charm along with the best of them, so I would have to keep my barriers up.

"Eager, are we?" Alice giggled from where she sat on my bed. How she could be up, without any real reason to be, and so hyper at the same time without the aid of any real caffinated beverage was beyond me. We'd given Alice coffee once before. Never again. It was so painful to see that Rose, Emmett and I won't even trust Alice to drink a caffienated coke anymore. Never again, I swear.

Me on the other hand, couldn't function without some form of caffienated beverage in the morning, so I eagerly took the cup that Alice handed me, draining it, not caring that it burnt my tongue and throat on the way down. It was my morning ritual. So sue me.

"He's the only one on the wing that I haven't met or even _seen_ yet, Ali." I explained, jumping out of bed and grabbing a towel and my robe. "Of course I'm eager. They told me yesterday, that by the times its all processed, he'll be off seg around lunch time. Hopefully I'll be able to talk to him today. From what I've heard, he's pretty complex."

"Good study, then?" She wondered out loud as I closed the door to my bathroom just to, so that I could still talk to her, but she couldn't see me. Hey, being friends with her since we were three, we've seen pretty much everything that the other is packing. This is nothing unusual for us. She was currently roaming through my closet, trying to find something for me to wear to work today, just as she always did.

"Apparently so." I answered, running my favourite strawberry shampoo through my hair. I rinsed it off and I knew that I'd missed something she said. "What did you say, Al?"

"Doesn't matter." She called back, and I shrugged, pouring out my strawberry conditioner and running it through my hair. "Ooh, you've not worn this one yet!"

"Which what?" I called, rinsing out my hair and washing myself down once more. I had to be quick, seeing as I wanted to get the last two out of the way as quickly as I could.

Not that I didn't find them all interesting, but I just wanted to try to get inside the head of this Edward Cullen. Everyone on the wing spoke highly of him. Well, almost everyone. There was one inmate who, when I asked, sneered at me, as if he'd smelt something bad. He enlightened me to the fact that Edward Cullen, or just 'Cullen' as he'd called him, was not as high and mighty as everyone thought. He even showed me a couple of bruises that Edward had given him. The fight that had had him segregated for the week. And sent James Daniels to the infirmary. I could tell that this particular inmate was not too impressed about me wanting to speak to him so early on. Word seemed to have gotten round that I wanted to see the inmates in regards to their status in the prison. Newbies to Top Dog.

It wasn't my fault if he'd not been on the wing long enough to carve out a reputation for himself.

Not that he needed to do that any more than had already been done. According to the other inmates, Edward had shown a particular dislike of him, purely for the reason he was inside in the first place.

But then again, sex trafficking young children will make you some enemies.

He had been the only one that I had requested an officer remain in the room for. There was something in his eye that I didn't trust. Like he would pounce on me or something as soon as the door was closed. I didn't trust him.

I asked one of the prison officers to remain behind. Just to be safe.

It turned out to be the right thing to do. He was giving me a leery eye all the way through the short meeting I had with him.

See now, murderers I was okay with. I could sit with them and not worry, but this guy was just creepy. I was just thankful that I didn't have to be alone with James again.

I climbed out of the shower and wrapped myself in my oversized towel, shivering slightly from the impact of the cold tiles on my overly warm feet.

I padded back out into my bedroom to find that Alice had laid out the outfit she wanted me to wear today. Sometimes having my own personal style guru was a help. It meant that I didn't have to worry about it.

She had laid out one of my more expensive suits. It was a deep blue Chanel suit. It had cost more than a lot of people earn in a year. It had been an present when I'd graduated from Columbia. I hadn't actually worn it, and would be surprised if it actually fit. I looked at what else she'd laid out for me and saw that she'd laid out an underwear set, white lace – _thanks Alice_ – and a plain white cotton wifebeater to wear underneath the suit. I had told her how warm it could be in that prison and she had taken liberties to make sure I was as comfortable as possible. She hadn't given me a proper shirt to wear under a suit since my second day and I was grateful for her for doing so.

I pulled on the outfit, running a smaller towel and a brush through my hair, letting it dry naturally before running down the stairs. I had told Alice that I wasn't going to wear any make-up seeing as I didn't know what the policies were.

I grabbed my bag and the toast that Alice had wrapped in cling film and was holding out for me as I walked past. I also grabbed the thermos full of coffee that she had made for me to drink on the way into work. I needed it and Ali always knew what I needed.

"Thanks Ali." I called back as I approached the door, slipping on the killer heels that she had laid out for me to wear.

"What time will you be back?" She shouted, stopping me in my tracks while I thought.

"I don't know." I called back honestly. "It all depends on how this initial interview with Cullen goes." I balanced myself on the shoes and walked back into the kitchen. "I mean, it all depends on how co-operative he is."

"What's he in for again?" Alice asked, munching on her toast. I remembered mine in my hand and took a bite.

"Murder." I mumbled trying to get crumbs over my ridiculously expensive suit. "I'm not sure of the specifics so I need to look at his file, but, yeah, I'll see you later."

"Later." She mumbled, looking back down at her magazine. "Don't get killed!" She added on. _Not a good joke, Al._

Because where I was working, it was possible.

I had heard that one of the guards, not so long ago, hadn't done a very thorough job of searching the prisoners as they came back in from the garden and he had ended up with a garden stick in his side later on that same day. So not a good thing to say, Ali.

I made my way down the corridor and into the elevator of the apartment building Alice and I lived in, still munching on my toast, mind you.

"Morning, Isabella." Mrs. Norris, a kind old lady from the floor below Alice and mine greeted me as she stepped into the elevator.

"Good morning, Mrs. Norris." I smiled at her.

"Oh, call me Beverly, child. How many times?" She scoffed waving her hand at me.

"Each and every time." I smiled at her. This was the way our conversation went every morning. Has done since Alice and I moved into the building. "I was brought up with manners, and I intend to stick to them."

"Well, Isabella, you're one of the few young people around who do." She nodded at me once, as if finalizing the statement. "Off to work?" She asked, noting my outfit.

"Yes, I am." I nodded, looking down, hoping that I hadn't spilled any toast crumbs over myself as I'd walked. Personally, I was astonished that I hadn't fallen over just yet. I, by nature, was incredibly clumsy and add in the five inch killer heels that Alice had put me in, I was a disaster. It was a miracle to think I was still standing upright.

"I still can't believe that a beautiful young woman like yourself is working in a prison. It's not right." She shook her head, giving me a quizzical eye.

"Actually, Mrs. Norris, I've found that it's incredibly interesting. There are such diverse characters in there. They're all fascinating." I smiled at her, a genuine smile, because I was genuinely enjoying it.

"What about the things that you hear?" She asked, turning to face me. "You know, about the whole hierarchy thing. Is that true?"

"Very much so." I nodded, not wanting to give too much away. I wasn't sure what the confidentiality on the wing as a whole was. I wasn't going to divulge anything I head learned in my one on one sessions with the inmates, but I figured that the wing as a whole was okay, right? I'd have to ask someone. Maybe one of the other psychologists that had been employed recently.

The elevator doors opened and I said a quick goodbye to Mrs. Norris before heading to the parking lot attached to the apartment block. I headed to my car, jumping in, throwing my bag on the front seat and flicking the key in the ignition.

My baby started up with a quiet purr and I grinned to myself. I backed out of the space and drove out of the lot to begin my drive to the prison.

I turned on the radio and was instantyl met with Alice Coopers' _Poison_. One of my favourite tracks. So what do I do? I do what any sane person would do at six o'clock on a Tuesday morning. I sing along of course.

I expertly poured myself a cup of coffee from my thermos, not spilling a drop with one hand, and drank it down quickly as I made my way through the streets of the city I lived in, making my way out of the city and towards the prison that loomed about an forty miles or so outside of the city limits.

Over the last week or so it had taken be around forty five minutes to drive to the prison, but that may be because I was driving a little over the speed limit.

I poured myself another coffee, gulping it down whilst bopping along to EMF's _Unbelievable_, I was content at the moment. The first thing I needed to do was to acquire the three remaining files I needed for the last inmates I had yet to see.

Jasper Hale.

Jacob Black.

Edward Cullen.

These three were the highest 'ranking' on the wing as it were. With Cullen at the top and the other two as his right hand men… is that right? I shrugged it off, looking forward to the day today.

Forty minutes, one thermos of coffee and a lot of singing along to the radio later, I turned it off and pulled up to the prison gates. I showed the guards my I.D. and they waved me through. I parked in the space I had been using for the last week and grabbed my bag off of the front seat, checking to make sure that my phone was off and I had everything I needed, before getting out.

"Good Morning, Isabella." A friendly voice called. I turned around to see Angela Norton, one of the officers on the wing I was assigned to walking towards me from her car.

"Good morning, Angela." I smiled back. Her expression was slightly stressed and I couldn't help but wonder why. "Something troubling you?"

"Cullen's off seg, today." She grumbled, either clearly not happy about that or ……… I couldn't think of another explanation.

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, confused as we stepped through the barred gates that led into the prison. We stopped at the guards station and I dropped my car keys into the little shoot that fed through to the other side. I watched them remove the set of keys that I required and then place my car keys over the top. Each set of keys was numbered, matching a number over the top of the hook they lived on. That way it was easy to tell who had given their keys back and who hadn't.

"No, not really." She sighed, as I took my required keys and she dropped hers in, repeating the same process I had just been through.

"Then what's the problem?" I asked as she took her keys and we made our way into the main building, walking down the corridors to the staff locker rooms.

"I just wish that he'd behave himself." She shook her head as we walked into the locker room. I put in the combination for my locker as Angela did the same. "I mean, he's so intelligent and I wish that he'd show it sometimes, rather than in ways that end up him getting put on seg, yet again."

"Well, I don't know what to make of that, but hopefully, after today, I'll have a better grasp on what he's thinking and, you know, how he works." I shrugged, giving her a small smile as we closed our lockers and made our way towards the wing.

"You have to be careful when dealing with Cullen." She warned, looking me in the eye. "Promise me, you'll be careful."

"I promise." I nodded and she smiled at me. I _would_ be careful. I knew that I needed to treat these last three with absolute care. They were the top rungs of the ladder here on the wing. Possibly more dangerous than any of the others.

"Thank you, Bella." She whispered, smiling kindly at me.

We walked out onto the wing, closing the large barred gates behind us. I looked out over the main area of the wing and it never failed to amaze me how much larger the whole place seemed when all the inmates were in their cells. It always seemed much more upbeat and a lot less eery when the inmates were out and about.

We walked into the small office that the officers used and waited for the wing govenor to start off the meeting.

"Morning, Bella." They all greeted me, Mark, one of the officers on duty this morning, handing me a ready made cup of coffee. This would probably send me completely nuts, almost as much as Alice, but not quite.

"Morning guys." I smiled at all of them.

"Right." Came the voice of the governor. He walked through the door with a blue file in his hand. Sam Uley. His presence was overwhelming in the tiny room. He seemed to take up the entire space. "We've got a lot happening today." He looked around at us all. "We've got three new in on the night train, waiting to be processed as we speak, so Martin, Jameson." He nodded at Mark and Simon, indicating that he wanted them to deal with it. "I want you two on them." They nodded in unison, walking out of the room and heading towards wherever it was that the prisoners were processed. "And…" He flicked through the file again. "We've got Cullen back on the wing, today, so I want everyone at attention. We all know how testy he can be after basic rations for any length of time."

"I don't know why we don't just ship him out." One of the officers, I hadn't learned her name yet, piped up. "I mean, he causes more trouble than we need."

"He might cause a bit of trouble every now and again, but…" He looked around at everyone. "He actually quells more trouble than he starts. You might think that he's a troublemaker, but the men in here respect him and that to me is what counts." He looked at me. "I trust Isabella will be looking into the whole dynamic between the men."

"Of course." I nodded. "I'm very keen to talk to this Cullen. A lot of, well, pretty much all of the inmates that I've spoken to over the past week do nothing but praise him. Although there is one that I think would prefer he wasn't here-"

"Daniels." Sam interrupted knowingly. "He arrived here about a month ago, looking to make a mark on the wing. Obviously, Cullen didn't really go for that. As you can imagine. He's been looking to try to overthrow Cullen since he got in here, but after Cullen uncovered what Daniels is in for, everyone turned against him. Not that he had many behind him in the first place."

I nodded thoughtfully. "I still have to talk to two more before I speak to him. Um, I think they're Jacob Black and Jasper Hale."

"Those sound about right." He nodded, flicking through and handing me three different files.

I looked through the three of them, seeing the names I needed. _Black, Hale and Cullen._ "Just the files I need, thank you."

After the end of the meeting, I made my way to my locker, grabbing my dictaphone, pad and pens before making my way towards the usual room I met the inmates in.

I'd been in the room fifteen minutes when there was a knock on the door. "Come!" I called, turning around and facing the door. "Hi, Angela." I said smiling as she walked through the door. She was followed by an enormous black haired, indian guy.

When I say huge, I mean _enormous. _This guy was as big as Sam, almost and I knew he could definitely hold his own. If I didn't know better, I'd say this guy was top dog. I'd seen him around, but only when he was sitting down, so I hadn't really gotten a chance to see how large he was.

"Jacob Black." Angela motioned towards him, and he grinned a huge toothy grin at me.

"Isabella Swan." I walked up to him, holding out my hand. He took it, my hand disappearing in his huge one. "But you can call me Bella."

"Okay then Bella." He grinned, sitting down.

"Thanks." I nodded towards the two officers standing at the door, and they nodded, walking out. "So." I sat down, facing Jacob. "Now then."

______________________________________________________________________________

After my insightful chat with Jacob, during which I found out he was inside for arson and manslaughter. He had told me that he'd wigged out one day and thought that a particular house would be 'cool to torch' – his words not mine – but hadn't known that there was an old man inside. The poor bugger had burned to death. Again, his words, not mine.

Whilst I was speaking to Jacob, more time had passed than I thought it had, and I noticed that it was time for lunch.

"Right well, let's get down to lunch, shall we?" I smiled at him, and we stood up. "It was great talking to you, Jacob. We'll have to talk again sometime." We walked out of the room and he walked off, following the officer that led him down to the lunch hall.

"You wanted to see Cullen before you talked to him, didn't you?" Angela asked me and I nodded, smiling. "Get down to the lunch hall now. They're about to go get him off seg."

"Thanks." She knew how much I wanted to at least see him before I spoke to him properly.

I made my way down to the wing and into the officers office, watching the inmates as they interacted with each other.

"Let me guess." Mark walked up behind me, smirking knowingly. "Looking for Cullen, eh?" I nodded.

"What can I say?" I shrugged. "I've heard a lot about the guy. Can't blame me for being anxious to meet him, can you?"

"Nah." He shook his head. "I guess not." He tapped me on the shoulder and pointed towards one of the doors on the opposite side. "He's coming in now."

I nodded, indicating that I had seen Simon through the bars and smiled at him. She walked through, holding the door open and held it open for a prisoner.

I felt my jaw drop slightly as I watched the creature walk through the door.

He was …… beautiful.

That's the only word I could use to describe him.

He was friggin' beautiful.

He was tall, approximately six foot two-ish. I wasn't any good with heights, so I didn't really have a good idea. He was pale and from what I could see of his face, he had sharp features, strong and prominent. His hair was in a complete disarray, sticking out in every direction. It was an odd colour. A very prominent mix of red and brown. A colour I could only describe as bronze.

The way he walked, his entire body language just screamed that he was in charge of the wing. It was _his_ wing.

"Gorgeous, isn't he?" Angela crooned in my ear. I looked at her and she grinned at me.

"Yeah." I nodded, turning back to look at him. He was now sat down with the only other inmate I had yet to speak to. Jasper Hale. "People's descriptions of him definitely do _not_ do him justice." I looked up at her, and she winked at me.

"Oh, hands on!" Mark called quietly, watching out the window.

I looked back out the window to see Cullen standing over the little creep I had felt incredibly weirded out by during our talk.

"What's going on?" I asked Angela, who was also seemingly on alert.

"Oh, nothing out of the ordinary." She sighed.

"Cullen!" Someone shouted outside. I looked out of the window to see Mark standing there, staring at the face-off happening in front of him. Everyone was watching now and what I saw made me smile. Edward was smirking down at the man in front of him. "Daniels!"

I couldn't help but chuckle gently at the spectacle in front of me.

"Who are you seeing next?" Angela asked, after they had locked all of the inmates in their cells.

"Um, Hale." I walked out into the main area of the wing as the officers made their way throughout the wing. I couldn't help but stare up at the onimous green door that was identical to every other one in the prison and yet so different to all the others. What made it different was what lay behind it.

Edward Cullen.

I knew that was his cell and that made all the difference to me.

I made my way to the small interview room where I would be able to talk to Jasper now and later Edward.

A few minutes later Jasper walked through the door, escorted by some officers that I didn't really know. He had a kind face. He was tall. Almost as tall as Edward, but not nearly as tall as Jacob. But then again, that guy was enormous.

He had blonde hair and welcoming blue eyes. He had an immediately trustworthy face. Something I found was strange, seeing as he was a convicted con. Well one of the largest drug dealers and embezzlers in the country. I couldn't believe that he was as dangerous as they said he was.

As I spoke with Jasper I found out that we were closer than I realised we were. He was actually the twin brother of one of my best friends. He was Rosalie's twin brother. _That's_ where I knew the name from.

I found that he was a genuinely likeable and trustworthy guy. I found myself warming up to him almost immediately, chatting with him as though he was an old friend. Apparently he'd been in here for three years, so that explained why I'd never met him seeing as I'd only known Rose for two years.

We parted on good terms, me telling Rose that he would like to see her and that he would send her a visiting order, as long as she wanted to see him. He wished me good luck talking to Edward.

"It's not going to be easy, you realise that?" He said to me, raising his eyebrows.

"Jasper." I looked at him, smirking. "If it was always easy, my job would be boring."

"Power to you girl." He stood up and took my hand. "Good luck anyway. You're gonna need it."

After I spoke to Jasper, I had to wait about half an hour. I stood at the window, trying to see through all the dust and grime that clung to it. I didn't have much luck before someone called out my name.

"Miss Swan." I turned around to see Angela standing there in the doorway. With Edward Cullen standing just in front of her.

My God he was even more beautiful up close.

He definitely towered over me, but what did I care? He was muscled, but not overly so, indicating that he worked out, even here in prison. He stood there, hands in his pockets, completely laid back, the material of his t-shirt tauntening and flexing with each breath he took. The thing that caught me most about his appearance where the tattoos I could see on his arms.

He had a half sleeve on one arm, covering the majority of his left forearm. It appeared to be a large dragon, black and detailed. It must have taken an extremely long time to do, seeing as the detail on every single centimetre was just perfect.

The tattoo on his right forearm was of tribal origins. It was intricate and detailed, just like the dragon, but instead of being purely black, this one was a whirlwind of colour. It was beautiful and I could stand there and stare at it all day. But I knew that I couldn't.

"Edward Cullen, I presume." I made my way over to him, slowly, hoping to gauge his reaction to my outstretched hand as I walked. From the way he looked at it, he wasn't too impressed. "Isabella Swan, but like everyone else, you can call me Bella."

He looked incredibly bored and I had a feeling that I should have taken Jasper's words a little more seriously.

I lowered my hand and looked up into his face, nearly losing the feeling in my legs and toppling over as I did so.

What I hadn't been able to see before was the finite details of his face. He truly was _beautiful._ There really was no other word that justified how he looked.

He had sharp cheekbones and a strong jaw. His nose was perfectly straight and incredibly proportioned to his face. His hair was thick and strong and I couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like as I ran my fingers through it. _What the frig, Bella? Get a grip!_

His lips looked full, but not in a feminine way. In a way that made me want to see how soft they were with my own, and to see if they were actually as kissable as they looked.

But what encaptured me the most were his eyes. They were a deep emerald green, carrying more secrets than any pair of eyes I had ever seen before. It was as though they were two beautiful pools, offering to transport me into the depths of his very soul. There was stength, power and domination in his eyes, but there was also a great deal of pain, hurt and sorrow buried there as well. I wanted to be the one to uncover all the secrets his eyes held.

"You can leave us now, thank you." I looked over his shoulder before he sat down, indicating that the guards could leave us. As he sat down, I noticed that there were two identical tattoo markings on his arms. It looked like there was something there, but it was just tapering off as it reached his upper arms. I wondered like hell it was undernneath that material, but doubted I would ever get the chance to inspect it. Maybe I could make up and excuse of some sort, saying that tattoos were a way of seeing into someone's particular mindset, but then again, from what I had heard, Edward Cullen was extremely intelligent, so he probably wouldn't fall for that.

"I don't think so, Miss Swan." Angela argued my statement and I saw Edward roll his eyes from where he sat. I had to fight very hard not to smirk at his behaviour. From what I had seen so far, he was every bit what I had been told. The only part I had been sold short on was his looks.

"Why ever not? I've had all the other inmates in here and they've been perfectly fine." With the exception of one, but let's not bring him into it.

"Well, Cullen is not like the other inmates." She tried to argue her point. I wasn't going to give up. I finally had the infamous top dog in my grasp and I _was _going to get him talking. Make no mistake about that. I would play dirty if I had to. I was going to get my answers. "He's got a very quick temper and will more than likely use his fists than his tongue." _Hmmm, possibilities for that tongue_.

I could feel him staring at me, so I had to appear as professional as I could, even though my thoughts at this particular moment were as far from professional as you could get. "From what I've heard, Mr. Cullen, here is very articulate." I shot back, and out of the corner of my eye I could see his expression change slightly. Whatever it was, I wouldn't be able to see it without turning my head.

"Well, we don't want to take that chance." Angela argued her eyes pleading with me. Apparently, Edward was used to this kind of behaviour, because all this statement received was another eyeroll.

I gave Angela a look as if to say 'don't push me' and she backed off slightly. "I know that you feel like I am most likely in some form of danger, but I assure you, I don't believe that and I believe that I will be fine. If I need you, I will shout, but I feel, as with the others, you should wait outside." I could see the smirk forming on Edward's face and I had to fight a smile myself. The whole thing was rather amusing if I do say so myself.

"Alright." She sighed, giving me a look that said 'if he tries _anything_: scream'. I gave her a smile and she walked out of the room grumbling something I didn't quite catch.

I sat down in front of the infamous Edward Cullen. "Right." I looked at him as he leaned back in his chair smirking, crossing his arms over his chest. _Clear defensive pose_. I noted. He's going to play games with me. "Now that she's gone, let's begin, shall we?" I smiled at him, to which he just smirked.

_Want to play games, do we?_ I thought, smirking evilly on the inside. _Well, I can play with the best of them._

_Bring it on, tough guy._

_**What do you think?**_

_**Hit? Miss?**_

_**Love? Hate?**_


	3. The First Encounter

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER. SCREWING WITH THEIR LIVES AND SANITY IS FUN, THAT'S ALL.**

_**The response that I've had to this story has been incredible. So far I've got seventy-two reviews for the first two chapters alone. But the 1**__**st**__** and the 50**__**th**__** reviewer will get a sneak peek at the next chapter and they'll be mentioned in the authors note in the following chapter? Sound good? Come on, you know you want it :D**_

_**I'll bring you sexy, tattooed, smoking, foul-mouthed Jailward as a prize :D**_

_**Edward.**_

I couldn't help but admire this woman sitting in front of me.

It was like she didn't give a fuck.

Hell, she's got balls, I'll say that much.

"Right." She said again, softly, reaching over and writing my name on the top of the pad. _Wow, I have a whole pad to myself._ I thought, smirking.

She just sat there and smirked the fuck back.

_She wants to play._

Let me tell you, she looked ready to fucking eat sitting there smirking in front of me, in her little blue Chanel suit – I have a sister that would fuck fashion up the arse if she had the chance, don't judge me – wife-beater and murderous fuck-me heels. She was different to everything I knew, and in all honesty, I had only been with one woman. How sad is that. I'm twenty-seven and I've only slept with one woman. And that was Tanya.

But 'Miss Swan' sitting in front of me, was really testing my self control right now. And she wasn't even fucking doing anything! She was just sitting there, wathching me like I was watching her.

And it was fucking hot.

"Now." She looked up at me, smirk in place, defiance in her eyes. Fuck! This girl did have balls. "Let's start, shall we?"

I didn't say anything, instead just stretched out, and I noticed her eyes quickly flicker south and land momentarily on the tattoo that made its way around my hip. I bet she wants to see every inch of that little fucker. Well, I say 'little' it's actually pretty big. The whole thing spreads across my shoulders and takes up most of my back. Bastard thing cost nearly a grand but it was fucking worth it.

"Silent treatment, huh?" She smirked a little more, making those plump, blush lips seem even more attractive. Hell, if she can work her way through all the inmates on this psycho wing, then she's got to have some brass ones. "Well, that's a game I can play."

She sat back in her chair and smirked at me. I knew what she was doing. She was waiting for me to break the silence. Sorry bitch! That wasn't going to happen.

I don't know how long we sat there, but I knew that some large amount of time had to have passed because before long, there was a knock at the door and Norton appeared again.

"Sorry, Miss Swan." She said quietly, not sounding sorry at all. "It's lock up. He's got to go back to the wing."

"That's fine, Angela." She smiled at the annoying screw, before smirking at me again. "We'll continue this little game later."

"Come on, Cullen." Norton said forcefully, as if that was going to get me to move any faster. Stupid, stuck-up bitch.

As I stood up I leaned over the table, pressing my lips close to 'Bella's' ear. "Who says I'm playing a game." I whispered and I sensed her stiffen slightly.

Honestly, I thought that I was going to pass out from the scent of her hair. Strawberries. Normally, I thought that strawberries were disgusting and sickly sweet, but somehow she managed to turn them into the devil's fruit. She smelled so dilectible. I wanted to taste her right there, but I knew that I would be overstepping the mark if I did. I wasn't one to force myself on a woman, no matter how much people believed that I would.

"Get a move on, Cullen!"

I backed away, seeing her eyes wide and her posture stiff.

She knew that it was game on.

I walked back to the cell behind Norton, practically walking the route with my eyes closed. Hell, I knew this place like the back of my fucking hand. I could have done it asleep.

"Right." Norton said forcefully as she locked the barred door behind me. "To your cell. Go on." She motioned up the stairs to where the lifers were placed and I rolled my eyes, making my way up them, her following me.

The other screws were around, ushering the remaining few back into their cells. I got a smirk from Jasper who was behind pushed back into his own cell across from me. Who knew why he was on the lifers floor. All he was in for was a bit of drug pushing and embezzlement. Hardly worth a life sentence. Oh well, he was in here for the next ten years or so. At least, I _think_ he was. I couldn't bloody well remember. All I know is that I've got another twelve and a half years or so left in here if this appeal falls down the shitter.

If all goes well, then I'll be out of here soon with a nice fat compensation cheque for wrongful imprisonment.

The only thing I could think now was that if I got out soon, I wouldn't be able to see Bella again.

I stopped suddenly. _Where the fuck did _that_ come from_?

I hadn't known the stupid cow for longer than what an hour or so, and I had only spoken six words to her. What the fuck was that about. Sure she was hot. No…hot was the wrong word for her.

Beautiful.

She _was_ beautiful.

That wasn't a word I had used to describe anyone at all. Not even Tanya. So what the fuck was that all about.

Oh well. What-the-fuck-ever it was, it didn't matter. I was a con. She was a shrink. Practically repelled each other.

"Keep it moving, Cullen!" Someone shoved me lightly from behind and I broke out of my little reverie.

"Wakey, wakey Eddie!" Jacob called from his cell across from mine. I flipped him off and he laughed as he was forced into his own cell.

I flopped down on my bed as the door was slammed closed and locked. I swear they just slammed them for the hell of it. For the 'extra effect' maybe.

I rolled over on the little shit-thing excuse they called a bed and grabbed a cigarette out of the packet I had on the table by my bed. I looked around for my lighter and remembered that it had been taken during the last cell spin. That had earned me two days down the block.

I stood up and banged on the door, hoping to get some attention.

Before long the little opening in the cell door opened, and I saw Norton's face through the gap. "What is it, Cullen?" She asked, sounding pissed. Probably interrupted her afternoon television programme and a cup of tea.

"You got a light?" I indicated the cigarette and she sighed dramatically, reaching into her pocket.

"I had a feeling this was what you wanted." She sighed handing it through to me, and watching me light the cig closely.

"Thank you." I smiled, handing the lighter back to her. She slammed the cover closed and I shook my head, not even trying to figure out what crawled up her ass and died today. Probably something large, knowing her.

I lay back down on my bed, looking up at the blank ceiling that plagued me each and every single bloody night. I couldn't get away from it. Even if I was somewhere else in this shithole. All the fucking cells were the same. Not like they were going to offer a variety, is it?

I heard someone outside my cell door and sat up slightly, flicking the cigarette into the make-shift ashtray I had on the table next to my bed. Jacob had gotten pissed at me flicking ash everywhere, so when he had been on recreation he had made me the ashtray. It was actually fucking ace! It looked just like Bob Marley, holding a spliff. It's lips were pursed so that when needed to put your cig down for a moment, it made it look like the figure was smoking. I guess that not everyone would agree, but I thought it was fucking neat.

The door to my cell opened and I saw Bella standing there smirking softly.

"I told you we'd continue playing later." She said softly, walking into my cell.

"And I told you not to assume that I was playing." I took a drag of my cigarette before putting it out in the ashtray.

I didn't stand up and she closed the door behind her. I assumed that someone knew she was in here because if they didn't she wasn't getting out of here until unlock.

She reached into her back pocket and threw something at me. I caught it and saw that it was a packet of Marlboro Lights and a box of matches.

"You know, you could get done for this." I held up the little gift, raising an eyebrow. She shrugged, walking slowly into the cell. "You've got balls, you know?" I took out another cigarette and sparked it up.

"You know, you shouldn't smoke so much." She said softly, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"Why?" I asked, shaking the match til it went out and setting it in the ashtray. "I've got life. I should smoke two at once. It'll shorten the sentence."

"You don't mean that." She shook her head, her smirk turning into a soft smile.

"How would you know?" I asked, resting the hand that wasn't holding the cigarette behind my head and setting my other on my chest. "I'm stuck in here. What else is there to do?"

"Work on a way of getting out." She offered, gently. "I don't know. Work towards your appeal."

"Done your research I see." I smirked when her smile faltered slightly. Obviously she hadn't done that kind of background work on the others.

"Well, when you hear a name thrown around as much as yours is on this wing, even when you're not here, you do want to find out what's going on with the person behind the name."

"Find anything interesting?" I asked, hearing the tension in my own voice. I knew that she had read the file the screws had on me, but how much of it did she believe. Everyone else in here, other than Jazz and Jake thought I was guilty. And here's another one to add to the mix.

"I did, as it happens." She looked at me, all amusement gone from her eyes. "And from what I saw, everything in that file is complete and utter bollocks."

I raised my eyebrows at her, not really believing what she just said. Is she serious? She didn't break eye contact with me so I had no reason to believe that she was lying. At least, if I hadn't been banged up for two and a half years with convicted criminals with an extreme aptitude for lying, I wouldn't have. But personal experience has taught me otherwise.

"I have a question." I sat up casually, not breaking eye contact with her.

"Shoot."

"Does anyone know you're in here?" Her brow furrowed in confusion and I chuckled. "Because you've closed that door fully, and the only way you're getting out of here, is if someone lets you out from the outside. If no one knows you're here, then you're in here til unlock sweetie." I stood up and made my way over to the dresser that held all of my shit.

"What if that was my plan?" She asked, her voice full of innocence. "To get the big bad top dog Edward Cullen on his own. No influences from the outside. No pens. No paper. No dictaphones. Just you and me."

"Then I'd say, you're either extremely fucking brave or you're one of the biggest morons I've ever met." I chuckled leaning against the wall. "And let me tell you, in this place I've seen some big fucking morons."

"Why do you say that?" She asked, tilting her head at me.

"Well, let's just say that I'm not really the safest person to be locked in an eight by twelve cell with sweetheart."

"I don't think you'll hurt me." She said confidently and I chuckled, darkly, shaking my head.

"No." I looked at her and saw that there was nothing but confidence there. "But you've still got balls for coming in here and taking that chance." I sighed walking past her and putting my cigarette out. "Just so you know, I have never laid a finger on a woman. Except my sister, but that's different."

"I wouldn't know." She shrugged. "Only child. The closest thing I have to a sister is a hyperactive pixie that likes to jump on me at stupid-o'clock in the morning."

"I know what that's like." I chuckled, remembering Alice. For some reason that girl was always as hyper as if she'd just taken the world records largest hit of crack. Seriously, that girl needed a daily sedative. Even though I'm sure that wouldn't work most of the time.

"Tell me, why did you say anything during our session earlier?" She asked, curiousity lacing her tone.

"Why didn't _you_ say anything during our session earlier?" I fired back and she chuckled slightly.

"Touche." She nodded and I shrugged, knowing I had her at least partially stumped. "You know, the men in here really respect you."

"I know they do." I shrugged, leaning back on the wall and crossing my legs. Maybe this chick wasn't so bad after all.

"And I think a couple of them might even like you a little more than they're letting on." She giggled and I shot her a look.

"If they do, I do not wish to know." I muttered darkly and she left it at that. The thought of guys thinking about me like that made me shiver. I had no problem with gays. Fuck! One of my best mates in here was gay. I just didn't want to know if any of them thought that way about me. Understandable, right?

"So, now that we've fucked about with the pleasantries," I stood up and stood in front of her. "You wanna tell me what you really want?"

"What would you say if I told you I wanted to get to know you?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Why?" I asked in confusion. "Why would someone like you want to get banged up in this shit-hole ten hours a day with a hell of a lot of convicted criminals. You do kinda stand out sweetheart."

"Maybe because this is where I want to be." She shrugged standing up, facing me. She was a lot shorter than me, but that didn't seem to matter to her. She was tenacious. She had spunk and that was something I knew would come in handy for her here.

"Want to help us poor lowly inmates in the prison system, do you?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at her and she chuckled.

"Not as such." She shrugged.

"Then what?" She smiled and innocent little smile at me. Well, it may have been innocent on the surface, but it was a smile that held secrets. And a lot of them from what I can wager.

"If I told you, then I wouldn't be doing my job properly, would I?" She replied, batting her eyelashes at me innocently.

"Well, I'm not sure you realise this, but just being here in my cell would be classed as not doing your job properly." I muttered.

"I know." She whispered and I realised I could feel her breath on my face.

I leaned forward, like I did before in the single interview room and brought my lips to her ear. "Don't you think you should get back to work then?" I whispered, before stepping away and making my way back over to my bed and laying back on it, leaving her standing there for a moment or two before she seemed to collect herself and walk over to the door.

She banged on it twice, and a moment later it swung open.

She gave me one last flustered look and left me sitting there, smirking, brand new lit cigarette in mouth.

Cullen: 1. Swan: 0

I like this game.

_**Bella**_

If I'd thought that the meeting this afternoon was intense, there was no way I could even begin to explain how being with Cullen in his cell was.

I swear that he had been about to kiss me before he whispered in my ear. And let me tell you, that in itself, in his sexy, velvety tones, was enough to send a girl under. I could see what the female prison officers meant about him being able to turn on the charm. Although, to me it seemed less like charm and more like straight dripping sex.

Had he been about to kiss me in there?

The worrying thing was, that I was disappointed that he didn't.

Gah! He was such a friggin' tease. What's the betting that althroughout high school and college he was a major player.

Although, I knew that to be untrue.

I knew from reading his file that he had been with his girlfriend, turned fiancée since sophomore year of high school. They were pretty much the perfect couple.

I sat down in the officers lounge, just off of the wing and opened up the file marked _**Cullen, Edward. A.**_and began to flip through it.

He was in here for the murder of Tanya Denali, although he had been protesting his innocence all throughout the trial period.

In his statement he had reported that he had come home from a late night coffee with his sister after class and found Tanya lying in a pool of her own blood. Someone had murdered her in her own home. Unfortunately, that was when the neighbour decided to pop round unexpected, as she had done before. Apparently she'd taken a liking to Edward and knew when he would be back from class. She hadn't seen Tanya coming or going so she went round to take her chances and found the door open. She'd walked in to find him kneeling over Tanya, covered in her blood.

In short, she screamed, the police were called; Edward was arrested and ignored when he proclaimed his innocence.

Something about the whole thing, all the evidence surrounding his case, it didn't ring true. It was like some things had been deliberately overlooked. Like the fact that the testimony given by his sister – who was nameless in the file, only known as _**A**_- was completely ignored. That wasn't right. I knew that much. My guess was that someone had skimmed over that. Wanted him out of the way for some reason. But there were easier ways than murder to hurt someone. To frame them. Simple tax fraud can take care of that little problem.

I decided that I was going to work on Edward's file later on. It wouldn't take much for them to agree to let me take it off site. All I needed was to say that I was going to work on why the other men respected him the way they did. What made him tick. Or maybe, that I was going to investigate ways of getting his temper under control, meaning less trouble for the officers.

I looked at my watch and saw that it was way past my quitting time. I wanted to get home to Alice, because she probably knew someone who could help me. And the date in the file told me that Edward's appeal date was set for two months time.

I had a niggling feeling in the back of my brain telling me that something wasn't right with this.

That he shouldn't be in here.

And I wasn't going to stop until I either found out what it was, or until I was proved wrong.

I stood up, seeing that it was dinner time for the inmates.

"Ah, Sam!" I called, finding the wing governor and following him through the gates that led back onto the wing.

"Bella." He grinned at me. "How was the session you had with Cullen earlier. Didn't do anything untoward, did he?"

_Which session?_ "No." I shook my head. "He was the perfect gentleman. Kind of makes it difficult to see him as the hard-nosed guy that everyone has painted him to be."

"Well, don't let your guard down with him." Sam told me, his tone full of knowledge. "He's dangerous."

"Aren't they all?" I raised an eyebrow and he laughed once.

"That's true, I guess." He nodded, stopping in front of another barred door and unlocking, holding it open for me to walk through before following himself and locking it again.

"Tell me, Sam." I looked up at him as I managed to keep pace with his enormous form. "Do you believe that he did what he's in here for?"

"Murdering his fiancée?" He asked looking down at me. I nodded and he looked back at where he was going. "I don't know. It's not my job to judge. It's just my job to keep them behind bars."

"Well, I was thinking, after that little display in the cafeteria at lunch time, I might have a way of working out what makes Cullen tick. You know, all the little things that get to him." He tilted his head in my direction. Good one, Bella! He's interested, now keep him on board. "And well, I was thinking I'd like to go into it further, but I don't have time today. I wanted one more short chat with Cullen, you know, to get my bearings slightly with him and then I have to be heading off." He nodded, still listening as he unlocked yet another barred door that we came to. "And I was wondering, if I would be able to take Cullens' file home with me tonight. Just to look over, so that I'm better prepared to deal with him in the morning."

"I don't know." He stopped and looked at me quizzically. I kept my face straight and blank. I didn't want him to think that there was any other reason I was doing this. "What would this be used for?"

"It would be used to help me get a better understanding of Cullen and in hand help me to get a better understanding of why the men respect him and how he got to be "top dog" as it were, amongst the inmates." I used quotations where necessary as I knew that Sam wouldn't appreciate being put below a con in the grand scheme of things. Well, according to the men, it _was_ Cullen who ran the wing. "I would have the file back first thing in the morning."

"Well." He seemed to think about it for the moment. "Alright then. But you better have it back first thing in the morning. And nobody else hears about this."

I nodded, grinning when he turned around. I don't know what it was about Edward Cullen, but he drew me in like no other had done before.

I walked out onto the wing and saw him sitting with Jasper and Jacob. He was laughing at something one of them had said. I could stand there and watch him all day, but I knew that I had a job to do, and yes I was going to be putting it on the line but something… just something in the back of my head was telling me that him being in here was wrong.

I walked over to the three of them, ignoring the catcalls and whistles that I received on the way though.

"Shut it!" He shouted and everyone immediately stopped. I smirked at how much respect he really did seem to have around here. He says 'jump' and they say 'how high?' It was incredible.

"Cullen." I smiled at him and he smirked back up at me, his eyes boring into mine, clearly remembering the tension from ealier in his cell. "May I have a word?"

"You may. You may have more than one if you like." Jasper and Jacob chuckled and I smirked at him.

"Smart-arse." I grinned down at him. "In private?"

He rolled his eyes and gave Jasper and Jacob a look that said 'you touch my food, you die'. And after seeing the little stand-off between Edward and that James earlier, I didn't doubt him.

He stood up and followed me to a small classroom just off the main wing. I didn't want to go too far to attract attention from the officers. Sam knew what I was doing. As I was taking his file home, I had to let Cullen know what I was doing. Even prisoners have human rights.

I closed the door behind me and he leaned against one of the tables set up in the room, looking every bit the Greek God.

"Close your mouth." He smirked, catching me staring at him. "Or are you catching flies?"

"Sorry." I mumbled, setting his file down on the larger table in front of him.

"What are you doing with that?" He asked his brow furrowing in confusion, looking between the file and myself.

"Well, I'm taking it home to read over." I shrugged and there was something in his eyes that I couldn't read properly. That bugged me because normally I was incredibly good at reading people. Why do you think I'm in this profession?

"Why?" He asked, sounding even more confused than before.

"Well, Mr. Uley thinks that I'm taking it home to get a better understanding of you." I walked behind the desk, setting my hands down on it and looking him in the eye. "He thinks that I'm taking it home to read over so I can find out what makes you tick, what makes you the one the inmates in here look to for support, guidance or when they need someone beating up." He smirked at that and I couldn't help but smile.

"Wait." He held up a finger. "You said '_He thinks_'. Is that not what you're doing?" He was sharp, I'll give him that. Not many I know would have caught that little difference in wording. But then again that may just be the people I hand around with. What was that saying 'if you want to look smart, hang around with dumb people'. Something like that anyway.

"No." I shook my head. "Do you want to know the real reason I'm taking your file home with me?"

"Duh." He looked at me, his face smug and I had to grin.

"Because I believe you." I whispered, looking straight into his eyes, which were now filling with extreme confusion.

"Excuse me?" He blinked a couple of times, as if not hearing what I had said, even though I knew I had said it loud enough for him to hear.

"I said, I believe you." I repeated louder. "I don't believe you killed her."

"Really?" He narrowed his eyes at me, obviously suspicious.

I nodded. "I've been reading through your file and something doesn't seem right. I've got a friend at home that can probably help me figure out what's wrong about it and I guess I'm asking your permission to do that. I know that this probably won't help you, but maybe it would aid you in your appeal in two months time." I shrugged, hoping that he would say I could help. I don't know why, but I felt compelled to help this creature standing in front of me.

"You would do that?" He asked, pushing himself off of the table and leaning on the same one I was leaning on, mimicking my pose.

"I would." I nodded, smiling at him.

"Why?" His brow furrowed in confusion again. "I mean, you could lose your job."

"Because I don't think you deserve to be in here for another twelve years for something you didn't do." I looked at him and I could see the gratitude in his eyes.

"You really want to help me?" He asked, his voice softening ever so slightly as if he was willing himself to believe that someone actually would want to help me.

"Yup." I nodded popping the "p".

"Thank you." He whispered gently, smiling.

In what I'm calling a momentary lapse in judgement, I smirked and quickly pressed my lips to his in a chaste kiss before grabbing the file and walking towards the door.

"The pleasure's all mine." I smirked at him, standing there probably wondering what the hell was going on. "I'll send someone through to escort you back."

I walked out the door and smirked to myself as I told the nearest officer that Cullen was waiting to be escorted back to the wing.

Cullen: 1. Swan: 1.

_The game is _on!

_**Edward**_

What the hell just happened here?

One minute she's telling me that she wants to help me and then the next she's kissing me and jauntily walking out the door.

I knew that she was playing an unoffiicial game between the two of us, and it looked as though she'd scored her first point.

She really seemed to want to help me though. Something that no one other than my sister had wanted to do before. I wasn't used to people helping me, so it was a nice thing to experience.

I walked back onto the wing, making my way back over the Jasper and Jacob, who were still eating the pitiful meals that this place tried to call dinner. Had that little time actually passed? I was expecting everyone to at least be finishing up, but no, it was the same as it was when I left. Oh well, who was I to complain.

"So." Jasper asked, swallowing a mouthful of food. "What did the shrink want? She want to spend extra sessions with you on her couch?"

"Shut it, Jasper." I chuckled. Hell, if she did have a couch I wouldn't mind spending some time on it with her. Now _that_ would make for an interesting therapy session. Surely an unforgettable one.

"Well, what she want?" Jacob asked, shovelling the crap into his mouth as though it was going to get up and walk away if he left it. Well, with this place you never know.

"I'll tell you about it later." I mumbled, not wanting everyone to hear about what had happened between Bella …… Isabella? Miss Swan? What was I supposed to call her? She wasn't a screw, but she did work here. I don't know. Anyway! I didn't want anyone else to know what had gone on between us. She obviously didn't want people to know that she wanted to help me. The chance that she could lose her job was huge.

Could I let her risk her job like that?

She wanted to, right?

And what was that kiss all about?

It's not like me to get wound up over something as small as a kiss, but there was something else there. There was definitely some sort of spark, but the kiss was over too fast for me to tell properly.

Maybe a repeat performance would clear that matter up.

Bring it on, little birdie. Bring. It. On.

_**What do you think?**_

_**Hit? Miss?**_

_**Love? Hate?**_

_**Let me know.**_


	4. The Favour

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER. SCREWING WITH THEIR LIVES AND SANITY IS FUN, THAT'S ALL.**

_**Chapter 3's 1**__**st**__** reviewer was and the 50**__**TH**__** reviewer was JaniceH. The same deal goes for this chapter. :D**_

_**This is going to be my last update until Monday as I'm off to see family over the weekend. To make up for it though, I'm posting the first two chapters of the winner of the poll stories. I hope that you enjoy it. Head over and leave me a review or two.**_

_**Bella**_

By the time I got home, I was exhausted.

It had been a long day, and I still had to read through Edward's file. There were so many things that I had to go through. There was something nagging in the back of my mind – well, actually, screaming at me would be a better way to put it – telling me that something wasn't right with Edward's case. I knew that I shouldn't be getting so involved with a prisoner, but I couldn't help it.

What was it about him?

"Ali!" I shouted as I closed the door behind me.

I bent down and picked up the post that had been put through the letterbox. I groaned and rolled my eyes at nothing when I dropped Edward's file on the floor.

I picked it up and propped the letters on top of it, flicking through, taking out what was mine. I frowned when I noticed something that I had obviously been oblivious to before. The names on the file and letters matched.

_**Alice Cullen**_

_**Cullen, Edward. A**_

I think there was something that Alice needed to tell me. Unless I was being completely irrational. There was always the chance that I was putting two and two together and getting seven, but then again, how common a name was 'Cullen'.

_He can't be a relation to Alice._ I thought, shaking my head. _I've known Alice for too long. I would have met him._

"Yeah, Bells." She called walking into the room.

"Ali, you don't happen to have a brother you never told me about do you?" I asked, dropping her mail on the table and setting the file down separately.

She sighed and nodded. "When did you work it out?"

"Literally just now." I turned my head and nodded towards the door. "Wait. You mean…?"

She nodded, answering my unfinished question. "Yeah." She whispered quietly. "The top dog Edward Cullen at the prison you're now working at, is my twin brother." She didn't meet my eyes until she got to the 'twin' part and I could see that they were swimming with tears.

"Ali." I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her tiny frame. "One thing I'm confused about. Why have I never met him?"

"It's a long story." She whispered gently, sniffing slightly.

"We've got time." I mumbled and she looked up at me, her eyes wide before she nodded slowly, looking down. I led her across the room, picking up Edward's file and we sat down on the sofa. "How come you didn't tell me about him?" I asked softly, gently tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"I don't know." She sniffed, shrugging gently. "When we were little, seeing as we'd been shipped off to different boarding schools since we were in kindergarten, he just never came up. And then as we got older I didn't want to mention him because …… I don't know …… I thought that you'd think I was keeping him from you or something. Which I wasn't, I swear." She looked up at me, her eyes fearful and I nodded.

"I know, Ali." I whispered gently. "I know."

"It's just … they told me for some reason, not to mention Edward at all. I don't know why." That confused me. Why would they tell Alice to do that? "And then after we finished school we went to different colleges. I was going to introduce you to him then, you know, bring him up in conversation somehow, but then he got together with Tanya and they got engaged. I was trying to process the fact that my twin was growing up and I was still living off my parents, you know, being left behind. That was when he was arrested. After that, my parents didn't want anything to do with Edward. They didn't believe that he was innocent, which pissed me off no end."

That was something that confused me. Esme and Carlisle had been nothing less than incredible to me. They had been friends with my parents for years and nothing they had done or said had ever given me any inclination that they could be anything less than loving or supporting. But then again, wouldn't they have mentioned Edward at some point. I mean, I'd known them for around twenty-four years or so.

Maybe there was something else going on behind the scenes.

"Alice." I whispered gently and she looked up at me. "Do you think that your parents were …… _ashamed_ …… of Edward in some way?"

"No." She shook her head. "No! Of course not. How can you even think that?"

"Well." I looked her in the eye. "Think about how long I've known you. Wouldn't they have mentioned him in some way. I mean, twenty-four years is a long time to know someone and not know that they have a son as well as a daughter."

"I guess." She sighed gently.

"I wonder why they didn't want anyone to know about Edward." I mused and she shrugged, sniffing slightly.

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I mean, when we were at home, they would always say how proud of Edward they were, and that anything he did made them proud. But then they completely contradicted themselves, telling me not to mention him at all. Being younger, I didn't really understand but now, I guess I don't know what to think."

I hummed, thinking things through.

Ever since I had known Alice, after being shipped off to a boarding kindergarten school or whatever at aged three, I had never heard a single word about Edward. You would have thought that she'd at least slip maybe, but not a single word, hint or anything was made about him. For some reason, they had been split up, and yes, we might have gone to an all girls boarding school since before we were in kindergarten, but that wasn't the point. There should have been some contact between them, right? I mean, they were twins.

"What's that say?" She asked and I looked at her to see her looking at Edward's file.

"Oh." I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. "It's the file containing all the details of Edward's case. Something doesn't seem right to me, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it is. Maybe you can. Normally, I wouldn't be allowed to show you this, but seeing as you're his sister – and I'm guessing that means that you're _**A**_ in the file, yes?" She nodded, taking the file from my hand and opening it slowly. "I'm guessing it's not that much of a huge deal then. Well, I hope it's not, or my job is on the line."

"I won't tell anyone that I've seen this. Don't worry." She gave me a small smile as she read through the file in front of her. "I can't believe all this." I knew what she meant. I had read through it and nothing in it seemed to make sense at all. It was all contradictory. "He didn't do this." She whispered, tears streaming down her face.

"I know." I hugged her close to me. "I know he didn't." I sighed, looking down at the pages in front of me. "And I'm going to prove it."

"How are you going to do that?" She asked, her expression confused.

"By bringing in the help of our favourite hacker." I smiled at her and she grinned. "Emmett!"

"Emmett!" She said at the same time and we both laughed. "What do you think he'll be able to dig up?"

"I don't know." I shook my head. "Anything relating to Edward or the case. I'm going to scan these files onto my computer – something that doesn't leave this house or Emmett's knowledge." She nodded, pretending to zip her mouth closed and throw away the key. "And then I'm going to send them through to Emmett, so he knows what's going on and what we already know, and I'm hoping that he'll be able to dig up the missing pieces."

"And you really think that this can help my brother?" She asked, her voice small and timid.

"I hope so." I sighed, looking back at the files. "I mean, I've seen him in there. He most definitely is top dog and in complete charge, even if not all the inmates like that fact, but there's also something else. I don't know what it is. There's pain and hurt, grief and guilt but there's something else in there. I think maybe the desire to be believed."

"He must feel so alone." She whispered.

"He has friends in there." I looked down at her and smiled. "He has people watching out for him. Which reminds me, did you know that Rose has a brother?" She shook her head. "Seems that you're not the only one keeping people under wraps." I giggled and she slapped me playfully. "Anyway, his name is Jasper and like you and Edward, Jasper and Rose are twins. He likes to be called Jazz though. He's a really nice guy. Easy to talk to. And unlike Rose, he has a certain southern drawl to his speech. It's very sexy."

"How do you know all this?" She asked, sitting up, her expression extremely confused.

"Oh, he's an inmate on the same wing as Edward." I grinned and her jaw dropped. "I know, I was the same way. I spoke to him just before I spoke to Edward, to whom I will say hi tomorrow." She smiled at me and I grinned down at her.

"What's he in for?" She asked, curiousity lacing her tone.

"Drugs and embezzlement." I shrugged and she sat back, obviously thinking. "Ali." She turned to look at me. "I _will_ find a way to help Edward. I promise."

"I just can't help thinking that ……… you'll put in all this work and nothing will come of it. That he'll be stuck in that prison for the next ten years or so, and you'll get found out and lose your job, meaning you'll have nothing and-"

"Alice, breath." I told her and she stopped, taking a large breath. She hadn't taken one since she started that little speech. "I know you're worried. But you have to listen to me. I _will_ find a way to help your brother. I don't know why, but there's something that draws me to him. And now that I've found him, I don't think I can stay away, and I most definitely can't sit back and watch him live out his life in that place. Not when I believe that he doesn't belong there. I believe that I can help him."

"But how when you can't risk your job." She asked me, her voice becoming desperate. "I can't ask you to risk everything you've worked for and I know that Edward wouldn't want you to either. I can't ask you to do that."

"That's where Emmett comes in." I grinned but she didn't seem convinced.

If there was something to be found, Emmett would find it. He would be able to find out everything there was to know about Edward, his life and his case. Who knew what would be needed. I knew that there would be reports from his school counsellors, seeing as pretty much every school I knew of made their students spend at least one session in their school career with the counsellor there. It would most definitely be in there. Whether or not it would prove useful.

I was conflicted about whether or not I should feel bad about digging into Edward's life. I mean, on the one hand, it was his own personal life and there may be things in there that he wanted kept secret, but on the other hand, something written in that file could prove to be the thing that saves him another twelve years in prison.

I would inform him in an individual session of what we were doing. If he didn't want us to read it, then we wouldn't. It would be completely up to him.

"Come on, Ali." I nudged her slightly as her eyes started drooping. "Off to bed."

"Are you going to bed?" She asked, her voice sleeping and thick.

"I was going to call Emmett and see if he can help us." I told her and she nodded slowly before standing up and walking to her room.

I got up slowly, picking up my blackberry and scrolling down the list of contacts. I called Emmett's number, hoping that he was around. Looking at the clock I worked out that it would be around nine-thirty where he was. I knew that that may seem a little late for phone calls to some, but I needed help, like, yesterday.

"Hello?" A deep masculine voice called through the receiver.

"Em?" I asked quietly, knowing it was him but needing that confirmation all the same.

"Yeah." He seemed confused as to who it was calling. Did he not check is caller ID?

"It's Bella."

"Bells!" He shouted down the phone, practically blowing a whole in my eardrum. "How are you? I miss my Bells." I had to laugh. He sounded like a little whiney kid that had had his favourite lolly taken away.

"I'm okay, Em. I miss you too." It was true. I did. Emmett was like a big brother to me. I had met him and Rosalie when I was in college. Alice and I had been in a coffee shop and there had been no other tables free when Rose and Emmett appeared at our table asking if they could have the two seats next to us. Of course, being the kind Samaritans that we are, Alice and I let them have them and we've been firm friends ever since. "Actually, Em, I need you to do me the hugest favour."

"Who do you want me to dig up dirt on?" He asked, a slight amusement to his tone.

"It's not dirt, per se." I straightened up, bristling slightly. "How'd you know what I was going to ask?"

"Well, when people start of a sentence like that, that's what it usually means." He chuckled down the phone and I couldn't help but grin. "So who did you want me to dish it on?"

"Actually its on a ……" How did I class Edward? Was he a friend? Or just an inmate at the prison I worked at. I thought about this as I switched on my laptop and scanner, waiting for them to warm up. "Friend," that one worked, "of mine."

"Really?" Emmett sounded a little surprised.

"It's not like that." I told him, rolling my eyes and shaking my head as I placed logged into my area on the computer I shared with Alice. We had our own laptops but we shared a computer in the small study we had converted from a room that was meant to be a third bedroom. We didn't need it, so it came in useful. "He's in trouble for something he didn't do. I want to try and help him and this is the only way I can think of to do it."

"What's in it for me?" He asked and I could hear the joking undertone to his voice.

"I'll cook you Thanksgiving dinner." I told him and I knew that I had him on board. He could never resist my cooking.

"Deal!" He replied almost instantly. "What information have you got on him?"

"I'm sending it to you in an email attachment now." I told him. In the short time that I had been placating him, I had managed to scan each bit of information into a file separate from everything else – one that I would delete after sending it to Emmett – and was now attaching it in a link that I would send to Emmett's email. "And. Sent." I said, pressing the little 'Send' button and receiving the little message telling me it had sent.

"Gimme a second." He mumbled into the phone and I could hear the faint sound of a laptop firing up. "Gimme a sec to get logged on and I'll be able to tell you what I should be able to do."

"Okie-dokey." I clicked on the file and deleted it, then clicking into the wastebin icon and deleting it from in there as well. I hoped that that would do until I could get Emmett over here to wipe it from my computer completely.

"Here we go." He murmured into the phone. "Got it." I could hear the faint clicking of a mouse. "Edward Cullen?" He murmured. "Convicted con? Are you sure about this Bells?" He asked, his tone slightly worried.

"Absolutely." I told him, my tone firm. "You remember Alice, don't you?"

"Lil' Ali!" I could hear him grinning. "Of course I do! What about her?"

"The guy I've just sent the file on, is her brother." I sighed gently. "I know that it says he's a murderer on there, but the thing is Alice was with him at the time of the murder. They were getting coffee after he'd come out of a late class. Witnesses there and everything. But _something_ in that file, in that case was screwed up and something tells me that I have to find out what."

"Okay Bells." He breathed gently. "Okay."

"Will you be able to find anything out about him, or not?" I asked, running a hand through my hair.

"Come on, Bells." He gasped, feiging hurt down the phone. "Do you know me at all?! Of course I can. I'll get the info to you as soon as possible." Knowing Emmett there was a good chance that could be tomorrow, he was _that_ fast.

"Alright." I sighed, smiling slightly. "Thank you Emmett."

"No problem, Bellie." I could hear him grinning on the other end of the phone, because he knew that I hated that name.

"I'll get you for that you know." I told him and he chuckled down the phone.

"I know you will. Goodnight, Bells."

"Goodnight, Em."

I hung up the phone and went through my nightly routine before I settled into bed. I smiled to myself in the darkness, hoping that I would be able to help Edward in some way. With that thought playing on my mind, I drifted off, a pair of brilliant green eyes following me into my subconscious.

__________________________________________________________________________

I awoke the next morning with a huge smile on my face. I was, hopefully, going to be able to help Edward.

Maybe there was something that I could do.

I rolled out of bed and jumped in the shower, going through my morning routine. I was surprised that Alice hadn't woken me up in her usual fashion, but then again, I guess that I really shouldn't be complaining.

After half an hour or so, I was washed, dried, dressed, fed and caffiened up enough to be on the way to work, looking forward to getting there. I glanced over at the file that was sat on my front seat, smirking to myself. Emmett had told me he would text me, when he had sent through the information he had acquired about Edward. I knew that I would be anticipating that text until it came.

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take our mobiles onto the wing, so I would have to check it on my lunch break.

I pulled up to the prison, checking in my car and going through the various checks that I needed to, handing in my keys and whatnot before walking onto the wing, file in hand and placing it back into the cabinet as Sam Uley walked into the officers office that was attached to the main area of the wing.

"Right." He looked down at the clipboard he had in his hand. "After the situation last night, we've had Daniels put on seg and-"

"What about Cullen?" Mark protested. _Had I missed something after I'd left?_

"Surprisingly enough, in this situation, Cullen is completely devoid of any blame." Sam said checking his clipboard again.

"Did I miss something?" I whispered to Angela who smirked at me.

"After we let them out for association last night, Daniels tried to start something with Cullen." She shook her head, looking confused. "It was strange. Cullen didn't react at all. Daniels tried to hit him, but he just pushed him away." She turned to look at me, perplexed. "What did you _say _to him yesterday?"

I blushed slightly and shrugged. _Which time_? I asked in my mind. I wasn't sure if Angela was aware of the fact that I had seen Edward three times yesterday.

"Right. Unlock." I turned my attention back to Sam and realised I had missed the rest of what he had said.

"Sam!" I called, walking to him quickly as he turned around to face me.

"Morning, Bella." He grinned and I couldn't help but smile at him. He was a genuinely likeable guy. "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering, if I would be able to talk to Cullen before he was let out this morning." I asked, slightly tentatively.

"You know how he gets when he's hungry." He reminded me carefully.

I waved my hand dismissively. "I have a friend who looks like a bear and eats like one too. He'll be no problem." He raised his eyebrows at me. "Okay, I'll take him breakfast. Hows that? There are some things that I need to talk to him about and I feel it would be best to get it out of the way before, you know, the pattern of the day sets in." I asked and he thought about it before turning to the others who had just started to leave the office.

"Hold it!" He called and the others stopped. "Bella is unlocking Cullen this morning."

"Are you insane?" Mark was pissed. "How can you let her unlock him."

"He won't hurt me." I told him, though it didn't seem to placate him.

"You don't know that." He looked between Sam and myself. "You know what he can get like. You can't seriously be letting her do this."

"Mark." I walked up to him slowly. "Calm down. I know he won't hurt me. Besides, I'm taking him food. That'll keep him busy for a while." I half-joked. "Look, I can see why you're worried, but I'll be fine."

"Well, I'm doing the rest of the lifer's so if I feel that there's _anything_ out of place at all, I'm getting you out of there as soon as possible."

"Alright." I nodded, walking out of the office and across to the servery picking up a tray and a plate of food that shouldn't necessarily be called food. I looked up at the inmate serving, who was looking extremely confused. I was glad that they had the inmates involved in something like this. It must have given them some sort of feeling of well-being. "Does Edward have tea or coffee in the morning?"

"Huh?" He blinked a couple of times and shook his head as though to clear it. "Um, coffee. Just black. No sugar." He poured me a cup of coffee and I smiled at him, placing it on the tray I had in my hand. _Hm, he takes his coffee the same way I do._

I made my way up the horribly noisy metal staircase, extremely glad that I hadn't worn a skirt today, hoping that the killer – or as Alice called them 'fuck me' – heels that Alice had laid out for me this morning didn't slip through the grating that acted as a landing on the upper levels and stopped in front of Edward's cell door.

I balanced the tray on one hand and slid the key into the lock with the other, twisting it slowly, before taking a deep breath and walking into the cell.

I walked through the door to see him standing there, his back facing me, with no shirt on. I let my jaw drop slightly as I saw the exquisite muscles of his back, rippling beneath his perfectly taut skin as he moved.

Decorating his back was an enormous tattoo of a phoenix, spread across his shoulderblades. It spread down his arms and I realised that that must be what I had seen on his arms the previous day. And from the looks of it, the one that wrapped around his hip as well.

Bright red against his alabaster skin, it just oozed sex. It was so beautiful and I could stand there all day staring at it.

And apparently, staring is what I had been doing.

"See something you like?" I broke out of my reverie to see Edward standing there grinning at me. He had turned slightly and I could make out that there was another tattoo on his chest, but I couldn't see what it was. I was going to see it someday soon though.

"I was just admiring your tattoo." I told him, honestly, stepping inside the door, removing my keys and closing it, securely, slipping the key back into the lock and twisting it so I knew that we weren't going to be disturbed. I saw him raise his eyebrows at me, obviously slightly confused at my behaviour. "I brought you breakfast." I said dumbly, setting it down on his bed, slightly disappointed when he pulled on a plain black tshirt.

"I can see that." I smirked sitting down on the bed and picking up the coffee. "My question is why."

"Well, I had some things I wanted to discuss with you." I told him and noted that that seemed to pique his interest.

"What things?" He asked, picking up and biting into a questionable piece of toast. "I know." He chuckled, obviously reading my expression. "It's a wonder we haven't all got diabetes or had some form of stroke on this diet. Fucking sucks." I couldn't help but smile at his blunt way of speaking.

"I wanted to talk to you about your file." I saw him freeze momentarily before resuming eating his breakfast.

"Go on." Was all he said, and I detected a slight change in his tone.

"I know someone who might be able to figure out what happened with your case from the information in your file. I've sent the information to him via email and he'll be able to send me back everything he can find out." I said this slowly, hoping to gauge his reaction slightly. But he had a perfect poker face. I couldn't detect anything from him.

"What would he be able to find out?" He asked, genuine curiousity in his tone now.

"Anything there is to know about your case and anything relevant to it." _And you._ I added mentally in my mind.

"So what are you looking for here?" He asked, looking at me curiously taking another mouthful of his coffee.

"Well, I didn't want to read through anything until I got your permission." I told him, testing the waters.

"Consider permission granted." He said, finishing his toast and brushing his hands together, getting rid of the crumbs.

"Really?" I asked him, hearing the disbelief in my own voice.

He shrugged, smirking slightly. "If you think it can help me, then yeah." He looked at me, something shining in his eyes that I hadn't seen before. "Why are you helping me?"

"I don't know." I told him honestly, my voice barely above a whisper. "There's just something about you."

"What?" He asked, his eyes roaming all over my face, lingering on my lips.

"I don't know." I breathed, feeling somewhat intoxicated.

I hadn't noticed that I was leaning towards him as I spoke, and now just realised that he must have been leaning towards me as well, because there was no way that I could have leaned forward so much as to be able to feel his breath on my face. But I could and it was real.

It seemed that the two of us both moved forward at the same time, causing our lips to meet, gently pressing against each other for the briefest of moments. I knew that I had initiated it yesterday, but that was a chaste, spur of the moment thing. This was lingering and deep, and coming from fuck knows where.

His lips started moving gently, and I found mine moving in complete synchronicity. It was as though his lips were made solely for the purpose of kissing mine.

When we pulled back, we were both slightly out of breath.

He rested his forehead on mine gently, his eyes closed.

"I really shouldn't be doing this." I said in a voice that was no more than a whisper.

"I know." He nodded, his forehead still pressed against mine gently.

"But somehow …… I don't give a shit." I pressed my lips to his once again, a little more forecfully than before. I flicked my tongue against his lips and he parted them, allowing me access to his mouth. I swelled inside when I tasted him on my tongue as I slid it against his and he moaned into my mouth gently.

We stayed that way for a few minutes, tongues battling furiously against each other before he pulled away, breathing heavily as I was.

"You should really go." He breathed, looking into my eyes.

"Why?" My brow furrowed in confusion.

"Okay, um, this might be my 'room' as it were." He made quote marks around the word room. "But we're kind of in the middle of a prison wing, here. With officers who are probably watching the door for any signs of your disembowlment."

I couldn't help but giggle at that, pressing my lips to his once again. "Alight. You win." I stood up, picking up his tray and walking towards the door, placing the key in the lock. "You're sure its okay for me to read the files?" He nodded, smiling at me as I opened the door and walked out, leaving it open for him to head out.

I headed back down to the main area of the wing where the inmates were now helping themselves to their breakfasts and I set the cutlery and crockery – albeit, they were plastic, they were still classed as such – that I had taken up to Edward down before heading off to the small interview room I used.

"Everything okay?" Angela asked me, shooting me a worried glance and then looking up across the wing. I turned to look and saw Edward walking down the stairs and making his way to Jasper and Jacob, a smug smile on his face. Hell, if everyone could kiss like he could, then everyone would be wandering around with that kind of smile on their face.

"Everything's fine." I told her, smiling before heading out to the small room I had overtaken as my own.

_____________________________________________________________________________

If you asked me what had happened that day I wouldn't have been able to tell you.

Not a clue.

Nada.

Zip.

All I could focus on was the feel of Edward's lips against mine. How soft they were. How amazing his tongue felt and tasted against mine. One word:

Heaven.

"Bella?" I heard Angela call and I turned around to see her sticking her head around the door.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you." I waved my hand, smiling sheepishly. "Bella's world calls again."

"I know what you mean." She grinned. "I just wanted to tell you that Sam says you can take your lunch now."

"Thanks." I smiled at her genuinely, gathering up my things, that I hadn't even used today and made my way quickly to the locker room.

I shoved the utensils and equipment I used back into my locker and grabbed my bag, taking out my keys as I walked out towards the main entrance of the prison.

After handing in my keys and getting my car keys back I decided to take the short walk to a small café that was just down the road.

I dug my blackberry out of the depths of my bag and turned it on, seeing that I had about a dozen missed calls from Emmett. He must have found something really good if he called me instead of texted me.

I quickly called him back, hoping that he would answer. He had been extremely quick in getting the info, but there must be something really important if he wanted to tell me himself rather than have me read it.

"Bella?" He answered and I rolled my eyes. He obviously doesn't check his caller ID.

"Yeah, Em." I said, checking to make sure I hadn't missed the café I was headed to. "You called."

"I found something. Something big." He sounded impressed and I knew that meant it was huge.

"Well, what is it?" I asked. I couldn't help my jaw dropping and stopping in the middle of the street when he told me what he had discovered. "Are you sure?" I asked, hearing the shock and tears in my own voice. This _was_ huge and I knew that I would have to tell Edward. It was going to be hard to do this. Harder than I thought it would be.

"One hundred per cent." He confirmed.

"Um, thanks, Em." I said quietly. "I really appreciate this."

"I know, Bells." He sighed into the phone. "I've sent the whole thing to your email, but I thought you needed to hear this firsthand."

"I did." I nodded even though he couldn't see me. "Thank you."

"Anytime."

We said our goodbyes and hung up as I reached the café.

How the fuck was I going to tell Edward?

_**What is it that Emmett's found out?**_

_**Hmmmm?**_

_**Hazard a guess? I know what you're all probably thinking and I can tell you, I bet you're wrong. Oh, well, we'll just have to wait and see won't we.**_

_**Push the green button.**_

_**You know you want to.**_


	5. The Confession

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER. SCREWING WITH THEIR LIVES AND SANITY IS FUN, THAT'S ALL.**

_**It's been a while I know, but this is an angsty chapter and you **_**will**_** be finding out what Emmett found out about Edward. But will Edward be finding out? Hmmmm………**_

_**This chapter has a bit of POV flipping, so I'm sorry if anyone's confused by it. I'm going to try to make it as fluid as I can, but as you all know, that's not always possible. Sorry for any jumpiness.**_

_**This would have been up earlier, but FF decided it was going to throw a bitch-fit and not let me on. Sucks. Happen to anyone else?**_

_**Edward**_

Jeez, she's trying to kill me isn't she?

When she walked into my cell this morning wearing that tight as anything pencil skirt and practically see through shirt, I was glad that she'd bought some food up with her because if she hadn't then I would have jumped her before I could stop myself. At least, her having my breakfast with her, it gave me something to do whilst I willed away the raging hard-on I was now sporting. Hopefully she hadn't noticed.

I felt slightly bad having these reactions to Bella. It felt like I was betraying Tanya, or at least her memory.

Tanya was the only woman that I had had any feelings for, who had affected me in any way before now. And now, with Bella being here and eliciting all of these reactions from me, I was torn. What should I do?

I liked Bella, genuinely liked her, but I had also been in love with Tanya.

It was all so confusing.

I knew as I watched her walk out of the main wing and to that small room she used to talk to the guys on the wing, that I had to work this out. I had to work out how I felt about her and I had to do it soon. It wasn't fair to her if I didn't.

"Yo, Ed!" Jasper called me by a name I hated, knowing that it would get my attention.

"Don't fucking called me that." I growled at him, and he smirked.

"Well, if you paid attention to what was going on around you, then I wouldn't have to, would I?" He argued and I, in all of my intelligence, gave him the finger.

"Maybe I have more interesting things to think about than listening to whatever the fuck you're prattling on about." _Boy, do I._

"Oh, like a certain, Isabella?" I turned my head slowly and glared at him, which he laughed at, gaining the answer that he needed from my glare. "Don't worry, dude." He shrugged. "She's cute." He nodded and I shook my head.

"She's more than cute." I mumbled so that he couldn't hear me.

"What?" He asked, knowing that I'd said something, but not sure what it was. I shook my head and motioned for him to carry on with his breakfast.

"Hey." Jacob said, grinning, sitting down next to me. "What I miss?"

"Meh." Jasper shrugged, shovelling some more toast into his mouth.

"You finished already?" Jacob asked, taking note of the fact that I didn't have a plate or anything in front of me.

"He got his breakfast delivered, this morning." Jasper replied, lifting his mug to take a drink. I whacked the bottom of the mug and hit bounced up and hit his nose, causing him to sputter and choke on whatever it was he had in there. Jacob laughed and I smirked at the scowl he had on his face as he wiped it off. "Bastard."

"I know." I smirked and he let it go, knowing that he wasn't going to win.

Unlike a lot of other fucks in this place, I didn't give a shit what people called me. Sometimes they were right, sometimes they weren't. With Jasper and Jacob, it was all in good fun so none of us took the name calling seriously.

If it came from someone else though, that was a completely different story.

There was nothing really eventful about the day that was passing right before me. I didn't see Bella again today, but that was because she was hidden away in that little room of hers. I wondered if she really would be able to help me get out of here. It seemed like something too good to hope for.

I could tell that there was something wrong with her when she walked back onto the wing after we'd all had lunch. There was something in her eyes, betraying that she was hiding something. Was it to do with me? I know it was egotistical to think that, but hey, she said she'd be helping me in the months working towards my appeal. Maybe there was something she'd found out and she'd realised that there was nothing she could do to help me.

"I wonder what's going on with Bella." Jacob murmured as we sat on one of the tables. Well, I was sat on the table and Jasper and Jacob were sitting on chairs, leaning on it.

"I don't know." I shook my head, making the tiniest amount of movement possible.

"Something must have happened while she was out for lunch." Jasper said softly and the two of us looked at him, both silently asking how he came to that conclusion. "Well, you saw her this morning. She was happy as Larry-"

"What's Larry got to do with this?" Jacob asked and I rolled my eyes, whacking him on the back of the head.

"It's a saying, you dumbass." I laughed and shook my head. "Not meaning actual Larry down on ground."

"Oh." Jacob nodded, understanding. Larry on the ground floor was actually anything _but_ happy. So much so that I had overheard the guards one day discussing the prospect of placing him permanently on suicide watch. I didn't get why he was so fucking depressed all of the time. He was only in here for another month. Not exactly an extortionate sentence. Sure there could be some things that I don't know about happening on the outside, but hey, lighten up a little.

"Anyway," Jasper rolled his eyes at Jacob and I chuckled at his stupidity. "When she left she was fine, right?" He looked up at me and I nodded, trying to keep the smirk off my face. _Hell, yeah, she was alright._ "And now look at her. Something's happened today. Something's upset her and whatever it is, I don't like it."

"Getting a bit attached are we, there, Jazz?" I raised an eyebrow at him and he shrugged.

"She's not my type, but she's sweet, kind and honest." He was watching her slyly, just as I was, as she sat in the screws' office.

"How the hell has she lasted _this_ long in this shithole." I asked rhetorically, leaning my head back on the wall the table I was on was pushed up against. "There's more to her than that. There has to be. There's fire underneath there. If there wasn't she would have run when speaking to some of these fuckups on here."

"True." The two of them nodded. "I guess we'll find out in those individual sessions she wants to have with some of us."

"Hm?" I looked down at him, confused.

"Didn't you know?" He looked up at me, his eyebrows raised. "She wants to speak to some of us on our own, regularly, for some reason. I don't know why, though."

"Interesting." I murmured and the other two nodded.

"Apparently, she's putting the list together and giving it to Uley today." I grimaced at his name. He was suck a fucking loser. And he pissed me off to no end. I swear it was just something he did for fun.

"Why the hell don't I know all this shit?" I asked, getting slightly annoyed.

"That's what happens when you spend more time on seg than in your own cell." Jacob replied.

I was about to respond with something, but found I actually had no argument to make. "Touché."

I watched her out of the corner of my eye as she sat there, writing something down on the paper in front of her. I surmised that it was the list that Jasper and Jacob had spoken about. I wondered briefly if I was on it. Then I realised that that might not be the best thing.

It would mean that I would have to be in close proximity to Bella, alone. And I didn't know how long I could keep my hands off her. Which was an extremely bad situation to be in, mainly because of where we were. I mean, I'm an inmate, and she's practically a screw. Well, not quite, but you know what I mean. The only problem is, I can't see her the way that I see the other screws. She was so much ……… more. And it's not just the fact that she's offering to help me get out of this dump.

No, it was something about _her_. The way she moved. The way her lips were slightly out of proportion when closed, but when she smiled the size of them evened out. Just thinking about her lips took me back to this morning. What was that to her? She probably thought that I was using her to get out of here, which wasn't the case. A lot of the fuckeups in this craptastic shithole might do that, but I wouldn't. If I wanted someone's help, I'd ask for it. There was no shame in asking or help, even in here.

But it made me wonder, why would she help me?

She was a confusing creature, and if I had been on the outside, I had no doubt that I would have left her alone. In here though, I found her even more compelling than I would have done had I been on the outside.

But then again, the mystery of Isabella Swan was one I was very much looking forward to unravelling.

_**Bella**_

I couldn't look at Edward as I walked back onto the wing. I walked straight through to the office reserved for the P.O's and got started on the list that I was creating. I wanted to talk to the inmates on a more personal level, and I had to do that on their own. Maybe a group session to find out what they really thought about each other.

But then again, that could result in violence and that was not something I liked having to deal with.

I looked down at the list I had started on almost as soon as I had sat down, sighing as I did so.

_Cullen, Edward_

Of course he would be at the top. I couldn't get him out of my head.

_Black, Jacob_

_Hale, Jasper_

_Daniels, James_

Now _him_ I didn't really want to talk to, but he was the one person in here that seemed to push Edward's buttons the most. I would have to find out why he did that. What his problem was with him.

After that I couldn't concentrate, and I had the feeling that someone was watching me.

I looked out onto the wing and saw that Edward, Jasper and Jacob were sitting together. Edward was sat on a table, Jasper and Jacob sitting on either side. His wingmen, as it were. Somehow, it set him apart from the others. He was just magnificent in his beauty.

None of them were looking at me though. Jacob was staring in my direction, but the slightly glazed look in his eyes told me that he was just staring into space, not really focused on anything. Jasper was facing the wall opposite, saying something to Edward and Jacob. I could lipread, but his head was turned just away from me, so that I could see his jaw moving as he spoke, but not see his lips. He couldn't know that I could lipread, could he?

Edward was sitting, leaning against the wall behind the table with his eyes closed. He was nodding and replying to Jasper every now and again. I distinctly read his lips saying, _"Why the hell don't I know all this shit?"_ It made me smile to think that he was getting frustrated about something, though without being able to see what Jasper was saying, I didn't know what. Jacob was talking too, but he had his fist in front of his mouth, seemingly biting at the nail on his thumb. _Damn him_. I thought. _What the hell is he saying?_

"Bella?" I snapped out of my musings about the three men sitting across the wing in front of me, and turned to face Sam as he looked down at me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I smiled at him, but I could tell he didn't buy it. I wasn't fine. I was freaking actually. But I couldn't tell him why. I couldn't tell him that I hadn't taken Edward's file home last night for the purpose of reading it through so that I could understand him and his case better, but to send it through to my expert hacker friend, so he could find out whatever fishy crap there was hanging around Edward's case so that he could get out of this place. No, I couldn't tell anyone that.

"No." He shook his head, sitting down in front of me, and clasping his hands on the table in front of me. "What's wrong?" His voice was concerned and caring as his dark eyes looked into mine.

"Nothing…" I trailed off, knowing that he didn't believe me. "Alright." I sighed, running my hands through my hair. "A friend of mine phoned while I was on my lunch and he sort of gave me some bad news. I guess I don't really know how to process it."

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked, and I shook my head.

"No. This is something that I need to work out on my own. Or at least, with my roommate, seeing as this includes her too."

"Alright." He nodded. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off, and talk to your roommate and your friend. Come back in tomorrow and we can get to work on that list of yours. I'll give you the names of the real screwups in here." He grinned at me, his eyes flashing to the three males I had been watching earlier.

"If you're talking about the three that I think you are, then I've already gotten them written down." I smiled at him and he stood up, turning to walk away from me. "Sam." I called after him and he stopped, turning to face me again. "Thank you."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bella." He nodded and I stood up, gathering my things and walking across the wing.

I noticed that I was getting a curious look from Edward, who was watching me with hawk-like eyes, as well as all the males surrounding me as I walked through the busy association area.

How the hell was I going to tell him?

I quickly grabbed my things from my locker, making my way out of the prison and into my car. I grabbed my phone out of my bag and dialled Alice's mobile.

"_Heya, chica."_ At least she sounded happier than she did last night.

"Hey, Alice, um, are you at home?" I needed to tell her first, and then we would have to decide together how to tell Edward. It wasn't right for him not to know.

"_No, I'm not._" Her tone turned from light-hearted and fun, to concerned in less than a second. "_Bells, is everything okay?"_

"Emmett found something." I heard a small gasp from the other end. "I need you at home to talk to you."

"_When are you back?_"

"I'm on my way home now." I told her and I could hear the tinkling of keys and the rustling of fabric on the other end.

"_Hang on a sec."_ I heard her pull the phone away from her ear and yell to Jane, one of her employees, that she had some things to do and sort out. I heard Jane shout her acknowledgement before hearing the bells on the door of Alice's little boutique jingle as she opened and closed the door. "_What did he find_?"

I sighed, setting the phone in its stand, fitting my earpiece and turning on the bluetooth, so I could talk and drive at the same time. Can't be doing anything illegal, can we? How ironic is that?

"It's something I have to tell you in person, Ali. I can't do it over the phone." I told her, as I started the car and heard her doing the same thing.

I raced out of the parking lot and got onto the road I needed that would take me home.

"_Must be something big then_." She murmured and I nodded, even though she couldn't see me.

"It's big enough for me to have a dozen missed calls from Emmett by the time I looked at my phone at lunch."

"_Shit."_ I heard her whisper as I drove much too fast for the roads I was on. All I knew was that I had to get home quickly.

"I'll see you at home then, yeah?" I heard her murmur her answer before I said goodbye and clicked off the phone.

I raced home as fast as mind was going. Which was bloody fast. I knew that Emmett had sent through the entire file he had found over our private email that he had set up. Apparently, it was hacker proof, but I quickly pointed out that there was nothing that was completely hacker proof. He grudgingly agreed with that, but then added on that it was as close as anything could be. I had questioned why we needed such a safeguarded email, but now I was thanking him profusely in my mind.

When I pulled up to our apartment block, I saw that Alice's bright yellow Porsche was sitting in her regular spot, signalling that she was home.

I made my way quickly up to my apartment, bracing myself for a tornado as I put my key into the door. And a tornado is exactly what I got. Alice was there as soon as I slipped off my shoes and took off my jacket, hanging it on the hook by the door.

"Whoa! Alice, calm down!" I scolded her and she disappeared into the kitchen without looking back at me.

"Come on, Bella!" She said impatiently. "You said Emmett found out something. I'm dying to know what, so give a girl a break and tell me what it is."

"I think you need to sit down." I told her and she planted herself on one of the barstools sat at our counter.

"Well?" She was impatient as I sat down opposite her and took a deep breath.

I had no idea how to tell her what I knew. What Emmett had told me. Looking at her, I knew that there was some hope in her eyes that it was something good, something that could help get him out of prison.

"I'm sorry, Ali." I whispered and her expression changed immediately.

"What, Bella?" She sounded panicked and worried. "What is it, Bella?" I couldn't answer her for a moment. "You said that you could help him. Are you going to help my brother or not?"

I choked when she said that, looking up at her. "He's not." I shook my head and she looked confused.

"He's not what?" She asked, her brow furrowing trying to figure out what I meant.

"He's not your brother."

_**Alice**_

"_He's not your brother_."

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't think.

I sat there. Motionless. Trying to let what Bella had just told me, sink in. It wasn't working.

"What do you mean, he's not my brother?" I asked, my voice sounding harsher than I had wanted it to. It wasn't her fault Emmett had found this out. But I guess I was looking for something or some_one_ to take my anger out on and she was the closest person to me.

"That's what Emmett found out." She sniffed and I could see the tears gathering in her eyes. This was hurting her as much as it was me. She was my sister, maybe not by blood, but in every other aspect of the word, she was my sister and when I hurt, so did she.

I could tell that she was getting close to my broth… well, I guess I couldn't call him that anymore, could I?

_Wait! What am I thinking_? I scolded myself mentally. _I had just told myself that Bella was my sister without actually being related to me. The same goes for Edward. He's my brother, no matter what happens._

I could tell that she was getting close to him, and it was hurting her to know this. She wouldn't have called me home if it wasn't. I was glad that she had told me as soon as she found out and not held out on me. Even though she knew it would hurt me, she knew I had to know.

I couldn't be angry at her for that.

But I did know who I _could_ be angry at.

My parents.

"What else did he say?" I asked, my voice choking a little and she looked up at me.

"Nothing else." She shook her head. "He said that this was something he thought he needed to tell me over the phone, rather than have us read it. He said that everything else is in the file he sent through. Do you want to read it?" She asked and I shook my head.

"Not right now." I sighed, standing up. "There's something I have to do first."

"What's that?" She asked, following me through to the hallway, watching as I picked up the phone.

"I have to call my parents." I said flatly, hitting number four on the speed-dial and holding the phone to my ear.

"_Hello?_" I heard my mothers' voice on the end and I took a deep breath.

"Mom?" I breathed into the phone.

"Alice, sweetheart." I could hear the smile in her voice as she realised that it was me. _Well, who else is it going to be?_

"Um, is Dad there?" I asked, looking at Bella, who looked confused at me, probably wondering what I was doing.

"_He is, it's his day off today. Is everything okay, Alice?"_ I could hear the concern in her voice and I took another deep breath, closing my eyes.

"No, Mom." I shook my head even though she couldn't see me going that, and leaned against the wall next to Bella, who had put a hand on my arm. "Can you and Dad meet me and Bella somewhere? I need to talk to you."

"_Okay, sweetheart."_ I could hear her smiling down the phone again, all traces of concern gone.

We arranged to meet at a small café in an hour. I hung up and looked at Bella, who was looking at me, an unreadable expression on her face.

"Bells." I whimpered, and she threw her arms around me. "Why do I feel so empty now?" I couldn't help but sob. "Why do I feel so alone?"

"You're not alone, Ali." She whispered into my ear and I buried my face into her shoulder, seeking her comfort. "You're never alone."

"But I just feel like …… something's been taken from me … something huge." I pulled back but she kept her arms around me. "It's like, now there's a part of me missing and I don't know how to get it back."

"I'm sorry, Alice." She whispered, rubbing my back gently.

"You don't mind coming with me do you?" I asked, looking at her and she smiled at me.

"Of course not." She squeezed my shoulders. "Hell, I want to know what's going on as much as you do."

"What about the email?" I asked, quickly remembering that she had said Emmett had sent through something earlier.

"We can look at it later if you want." She smiled at me. "Why don't we get this over and done with. Find out what the hell is going on here and then come back and analyse the file. Edward said that we could when I saw him this morning."

"You saw him?" I asked and she nodded. "How is he?"

"Ummmm…………" She bit her lip, a sign that she was working out what she was going to say to me.

"Bella?" I stepped away from her and she flushed. "Bella? Did you…?" I didn't need to finish the question because her face flushed a deeper red and she covered her face with her hands. "Getting funky with my brother, are we?" She looked up at me and smiled sadly, which looked weird when combined with the bright colour of her face. "I don't care that he's not related by blood. He's my brother and nothing is going to change that. Just like you're my sister." She grinned at me and took a deep breath. "So……"

"So?" She sounded hesitant to tell me what happened.

"So … what happened?"

"Well, I took him breakfast in his cell this morning, walking in on him with no shirt on. I don't care if he's your brother, he's hot. So hot. And the phoenix on his back is incredible-"

"Isn't it, just?" I couldn't help but smile. "He designed that himself, you know?" Her jaw dropped and I nodded. "Anyway, carry on."

"Well, I gave him his breakfast, which he ate … obviously … but anyway!" She waved her hands in front of her face, grinning like a schoolgirl. This was a side to Bella that I missed. "We talked for a minute about his case file and whether or not it was alright for us to read it when Emmett sent everything through – which he said is fine, by the way. And the next thing I knew, his lips were on mine."

"Aw." I couldn't help but swoon. I had to admit, the two of them were perfect for each other. I just wish that I had been able to introduce them before now. My mouth fell open when I realised something and I had Bella sitting there, looking at me curiously. "That's why they didn't let me introduce him to you. Why they sent us to separate boarding schools. Because he's not really my brother."

"Why would that have affected him meeting me?" She asked, confused and I shook my head.

"I don't know." I sighed. "But that's got to be part of the reason. I mean, why else would they?"

"I don't know." She shook her head and looked at the clock. "Come on, we're going to be late if we don't leave now."

"Alright." I whispered, slipping on some comfortable, yet stylish – obviously – heels and following Bella out of the apartment.

We drove in silence in her car, not even bothering to turn on the radio, knowing that this was a conversation that neither of us wanted to be involved in. She was a saint, doing what she was doig for Edward, coming with me now. Bella often thought herself selfish, but I had never known her to put herself above anyone else. Other than when she made the decision to work in the prison, but even _that_ turned out to be a good thing.

Shut me up, didn't it?

We pulled into the parking lot of the café twenty minutes later, seeing that my fathers' Mercedes was already in a space.

We climbed out of the car, linking our arms together – a united front – and taking a deep breath.

"You okay?" She asked me, looking down at me, a smile on her face.

"I think so." I nodded. "I need to get this over with. Letting it fester won't do anyone any good. And this may go towards us being able to help Edward."

We walked into the café and saw my parents sitting at a table. They both smiled and stood up, embracing and greeting the two of us with enthusiasm.

"So, Alice." My father, Carlisle, said, folding his hands in front of him on the table looking at me expectantly. "What brought this on, then?"

"I actually ……" I looked at Bella, who smiled and nodded at me, telling me it was okay to carry on. "I need to talk to you." Their faces turned studious as they looked at me, wondering what was going on. "It's about Edward." I saw their eyes widen minutely, their gaze flicking to Bella and back to me quickly. "She knows about him." I said flatly.

"How?" My father's tone was clipped and harsh, setting me on edge slightly.

"Because she works in the prison he's in." I said, not sugar coating it at all. They both flinched slightly at the word 'prison', taking each others hands. "She knows him and has spoken to him."

"You have?" They both looked at her and she nodded, smiling.

"He's actually incredibly intelligent." She smiled as she thought about him. I thought it was cute. "All the men in there look up to him. He's most definitely in charge of the wing."

"Is that so?" My parents didn't sound like they were truly interested in what she had to say, and I found myself getting pissed off with them. They were like this whenever someone mentioned Edward over the last two years or so. And now I think I knew why.

Bella nodded, her gaze flicking to me, telling me that she'd noticed the change in their demeanor as well. "You must be proud to have raised such an intelligent son. It's a shame he's in there. He could have done so much."

She had given me the window I needed and I silently thanked her for it.

"Apart from you didn't though, did you?" Their gazes flicked back to me. "Raise your son, that is." I could hear the tears in my own voice. "You raised someone else's son." I couldn't meet their gaze, but I knew that they were both looking at me, in shock.

"What are you talking about, Alice?" I could hear the nervousness in my father's voice, and I choked back a laugh.

"I'm going to ask you this once, and I want an honest answer." I looked up at them, my gaze flicking between the two of them. "Do you think you can do that?" They looked each other and nodded slowly, turning back to face me. Bella's hand gripped mine under the table, giving it a squeeze. A form of silent reassurance that I needed. I needed her hear. I couldn't do this without her here. "Is Edward my brother?" My voice was no more than a whisper, but I knew that they had heard me because they both took deep breaths.

They looked at each other, for a moment or two, before setting down their drinks and turning back to look at me. It was my mother who answered, her voice no louder than my own, but again, I heard it loud and clear, the answer ringing through my ears, deafeningly.

"_No."_

_**Was that what you were expecting?**_

_**Didn't think so.**_

_**How will Edward react to the news?**_

_**Let me know what you think.**_


	6. Support Stacie

**_Not an update. Sorry about that._**

**_But I want to let you all know to start saving and counting any pennies you have left over_**

**_because the Support Stacie Auction will be on from the 11th Sept - 14th Sept_**

**_and you guessed it, if you want me to, I can write you your very own imaginings._**

**_You all know its for a good cause, so head on over and check out what I'm offering at_**

http://majiksfanfic(dot)com/phpbb/viewtopic(dot)php?f=115&t=2641&p=52196&hilit=twiXlite#p52196

**_There are loads of authors on auction so click on the icon at the top labelled 'Twlight Auctions' and it'll lead you through to them_**

**_You know you want to help out._**

**_And you get a story at the end of it, so it's win win._**

**_^_^_**


	7. The Revelation

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER. SCREWING WITH THEIR LIVES AND SANITY IS FUN, THAT'S ALL.**

_**Sorry about the wait. I don't really have any excuses apart from the fact that RL sucks. Again, send your thanks to Shelby0321 for giving me a kick up the arse and getting this out.**_

_**Esme POV.**_

I had been dreading this day since the moment I told my baby sister I would hide her son from his father. Since that day, I had been waiting for the moment either Edward, Alice or both of them would approach Carlisle and I with the question of '_Is he my brother?', "Is she my sister?'_ or '_ Are you my parents?'_

As he was growing up I was so glad that he had taken after his mother, seeing as the two of us looked extremely alike. No one really questioned it. I'd received a few quizzical looks when out with him over the years, but one look at his beautiful green eyes, which resembled mine greatly, the looks had vanished. People didn't ask questions about the fact that I hadn't told them I was having twins – which we were able to pull off as Alice and Edward were born only a few hours apart anyway. They just look at it as the scans and sonograms hadn't been able to pick up the second baby, as I've been told can happen sometimes.

Now here I was, sitting across from my daughter and her best friend, who also happened to be in direct contact with Edward on a daily basis. They both knew the truth, no matter what Carlisle and I said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Alice asked, her beautiful blue-green eyes filling with tears at the thought. In her mind, she must have just lost her only brother. "How could you keep something like this from us? From _Edward_? Didn't you think we had a right to know?"

"We know that you're angry-" Carlisle started, taking my hand gently in his own, but keeping his eyes on his daughter, who had tears running down her face, completely destroying her make-up. She wasn't going to be happy about that. Or at least, on a normal day it would have bothered her. I think that today was an exception to that rule.

"I'm not angry, per se." She said quietly, looking down at her lap. She took a shuddering breath before looking back up at the two of us. "You have to tell Edward."

"We know." We whispered together, clutching each other's hands tightly.

"Today." She looked at us with a determination that told us 'if you don't, then I will'. We knew that he should hear it from us, but we just didn't know how to tell him. "And it has to be done in person. This isn't something that can be done through a letter or a phone call. It has to be done face to face."

That meant going to the prison Edward was currently in. We knew that Edward was innocent and I hated to think of what could be happening to him in there. That was one of the reasons I hadn't ever worked up the courage to go and visit him. I should have done, I know that, but being in there, seeing my baby – even though he wasn't mine biologically, he was my son in my heart – going through all that. I don't think I could bear it.

I looked at Carlisle and saw that he had the same look in his eyes. He didn't want to see Edward in that state either. It would hurt the two of us too much to see him in any kind of pain. We both looked at the girls who were both sitting there, staring at us with determined looks on their faces.

Neither would take no for an answer.

"Alright." Carlisle whispered and they nodded at us, standing up. _I guess that means we're going now._

We both stood up and followed them out of the café.

"I think it's best if we all go in the same vehicle." Bella stated as she walked over to her car. I looked at Carlisle, wondering why that would make a difference. "It'll be more hassle getting in there if we have more than one car. They do a vehicle registration for each of the vehicles coming in or out. Seeing as I'm on the staff there, you won't have to go through all that seeing as they already have my car on file."

I nodded at her reasoning, knowing that she was right. Alice was already over at the car, climbing into the front passenger seat as Carlisle opened my door, allowing me to slide into the back. He held up one finger, signalling that he would be back in a moment and headed over to our car. He opened the drivers' door and leaned over to get something out of the glove box. Why he didn't just open the passengers' side door, I'll never know. He was a man and they had to do things the complicated way, didn't they? As he straightened up, I saw that he was tucking something into the inside pocket of his jacket and I knew immediately what it was as he closed the door, locked the Mercedes and walked back over to us, slowly.

The entire journey there, I couldn't help but think about what state Edward would be in when we saw him. He was never the most outgoing child, introverted and kind. From what I've heard about prisons, especially male prisons, the kind ones are always taken advantage of and I didn't think that I could handle seeing him that way.

"I know what you're thinking, Esme." Bella said quietly from the front and my gaze snapped immediately to hers in the rear-view mirror. "And you're wrong. Though I didn't know him before, I know that Edward is not the same person he was when he went into this place. He's different. And it's a good thing that he is."

"Why do you say that?" I asked, taking Carlisle's hand in my own as the ominous building came into view.

"Just trust me." She answered cryptically and I wasn't sure I liked her tone, but through all the stories Alice had told me about Bella and what I knew from actually knowing her and her mother, she was stubborn and wouldn't give up any information she didn't want to. So I didn't push it. I guess I would find out what was going on in due time.

We pulled up to the gate and Bella scrolled down the window, talking to one of the guards on duty. She motioned to the back and the guard nodded, opening the large iron gate that separated the world inside to the outside world. We drove through, slowly and she parked the car in a free space. Something told me that this was her space when she was in.

I took a deep breath before climbing out of the car, watching Bella walk up to a small booth and exchange her keys for another set.

"Security." Alice explained as we watched her talking to the guard and taking the keys. "I think it makes sure that the officers and staff here can't leave with their prison keys. They have to exchange their vehicle keys for their work ones. Increases security, I guess." _Well that makes sense._

Bella turned and gestured for us to follow her, which we did. She walked up to a large metal barrier and opened a small door, motioning for us to walk through. She followed after us and the door was closed and locked behind us.

I looked around, seeing something completely different to what I had been expecting. I don't really know what I thought it would be like. We were now inside, face to face with a series of metal barred gates. Bella opened the gate, motioning for us to walk through, before walking through herself, locking it and walking down a long corridor.

"Why are there so many gates?" I asked, keeping close to Bella as we walked.

"If a prisoner goes missing or is unaccounted for when it comes to say, coming back off work or recreation time, we always assume that there is a chance they've swiped some keys." She explained, not slowly her pace. "The gates are here to slow them down if they have managed to. It makes it easier to catch up with them. If there weren't any gates then they could literally run right up to the entrance gate and out without any of us really knowing. It gives us time to find them and get them either on seg or back to their wing."

I nodded, stopping when Bella did when we came to a door. We walked in and saw that there were two prison officers standing there waiting for us.

"Through that door is the wing Edward is on." She explained, pointing to a door on the opposite side of the room. "Normally, visitors aren't allowed on the wing, for obvious reasons, but I've explained that this is a special circumstance. You'll have to be checked and leave your bags and belongings in here." She motioned to some lockers and we slipped off our bags and placed them all in the same one. I took off my jacket and took my phone, purse and anything else that was in my pockets out, placing them in the locker as Bella had instructed.

The two prison officers searched us quickly and once they had deemed us safe enough to go on the wing without having anything that could cause anyone any harm, mostly us, we followed Bella towards the door, the officers in tow.

"Who're they here to see?" One of them, a stocky woman with kind eyes asked Bella as she unlocked the door.

"Cullen." She replied, opening the door. The woman next to us let out a breath and Bella turned to face her. "What's happened now?"

"Nothing." She shook her head. "Thank god."

"What?" Bella closed the door again and I heard it lock once more. "What is it, Angela?"

"Daniels has been hassling him again." She sighed and Bella ran a hand through her hair.

"What's he been doing?" She asked and I looked at Carlisle, confused.

"Just the usual, but I can tell it's really getting under Cullens' skin. At least it's not him being the antagonist this time."

"That's true." Bella mumbled, sighing and closing her eyes. "What's happened with Daniels?"

"They're both still on the wing, but everyone's keeping a close eye on them both." The woman, Angela, explained and Bella nodded telling her to go on. "It's only a matter of time before Cullen snaps and really does some damage."

"I know." Bella sighed, her hand meeting her hair again. "Well, there's not really much we can do, is there? If they're gonna fight, they're gonna fight."

"Maybe we should just let them hash it out." The other officer spoke up. He wasn't that much taller than Bella, maybe an inch or so and his hair was dark.

"No." Bella shook her head quickly, dispelling that idea before it could even be discussed. "Allowing them to fight won't help anything. All it'll do is increase the anger between the two of them. And besides, do you really think that Daniels would stand a chance? I mean, my first day here, he was in the infirmary for fighting with Cullen." It sounded strange to hear Bella calling Edward by our last name. I wondered if there was a reason for that. I should have watched more episodes of Prison Break with Carlisle.

"She's right, Mark." Angela agreed with Bella. "Letting them fight would only cause chaos on the wing, you know that. We can't allow that."

"You ready?" Bella looked at the three of us and we all nodded. She turned around, opening the door and walking through, looking back at us. "Remember, be careful and keep an eye out."

That didn't really give me much hope.

We walked out onto the wing, to see it absolutely teeming with life. There were men everywhere, but it wasn't anything like I'd ever seen before. I was expecting orange jumpsuits and everyone to be locked away in cells, but this was nothing like that.

The men were all, in what appeared to be, their own clothes, laughing and joking. There were even two men having a game of catch down the length of the wing. Looking up I saw the rows of cell doors, some wide open, some partially closed and others almost completely closed.

"You see that cell up there on the top floor?" Bella pointed up to one of the doors. "The one next to the stair case?" We all nodded. It was a door, just like all the rest, completely solid, and no doubt incredibly thick. This one was mostly closed, with only a sliver of a gap showing. "That's Edward's cell." Suddenly the door seemed to shift. Not physically but in my own mind. Something made that particular door stand out to me and I knew that it was because now I knew it was where Edward slept and was confined to after their socialising time was up.

I looked at Bella to see that she was scanning the room, looking for something or someone.

"Bella." Alice whispered next to her, her eyes locked on something. I looked to where she was staring and saw that there was a leery looking man, not too large, actually rather scrawny watching us. "Who's that guy?" She nodded towards him and Bella sighed.

"James Daniels." She replied, not really offering any more information than that.

"The guy you were talking about before?" She asked and Bella nodded, not taking her eyes off of this James Daniels man.

"He's watching us." She closed her eyes, shuffling back against her father, who wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah." She nodded, not really sounding overly worried, but scanning the room again. "And if he's noticed you, you can bet that fancy car you drive that someone else has as well."

"Edward?" I whispered and she nodded, looking back over to where that James Daniels was sitting staring at us.

"Uh-oh." Angela breathed from next to me. I had completely forgotten that she was standing there. She was looking in the same direction as we were, but at something behind him. "Mark." She hissed and he appeared next to her.

"Right." He nodded once and disappeared into a small office like room behind us. A moment later several more officers appeared, watching intently, ready to pounce if something happened.

That was when I saw him. He was walking towards this James with a murderous look in his eye. It was clear that he had changed, that he wasn't the same Edward I had raised. This Edward was cold and hard, his eyes, which used to be such a bright emerald colour, were now a deep dark forest green, tainted with his time in here. He was bulkier now too, his arms larger than they had been before all this had happened. His hair was the same untameable mess it had been when I had last seen him, so I knew that at least one thing hadn't changed.

It was clear that everyone else was watching him as well, but not for the same reason I was. They were waiting for something to start. Some sort of fight, whereas I was purely watching him move in a way that I wasn't used to.

And then it came to me. Why they were watching him like they were, springs coiled and ready to pounce should anything happened.

_This_ Edward, was dangerous.

They all stepped forward as Edward approached the man who was still staring at us, standing behind him with a deadly look in his eyes. He hadn't noticed that Edward was behind him until Edward cleared his throat. He turned and looked up at him, a sneer forming on his face. He didn't start anything, but looked back over at us, his gaze flicking over the guards that were assembled ready to break up the fight that had yet to start. He didn't say or do anything, but glared up at Edward before stalking off.

Edward watched him as he sauntered off, walking over to another group of prisoners that was watching us as well. He gaze flicked over to us, taking in the fact that we were there in front of him, right here after so long. His gaze didn't linger on us for very long before he turned away and walked over to two other inmates, a blonde man and an enormous looking Indian man.

"Jacob and Jasper?" Alice whispered to Bella and she nodded, not taking her eyes off the trio.

"Yeah." She whispered, nodding again.

I looked back over to where Edward was sitting to find him staring, not at us but at nothing in particular.

"It's hit him pretty hard that you're here." Bella whispered to the three of us. "Not so much Alice, because she's been here before." I looked down at Alice, wondering why she'd not told us about coming to see Edward. Alice stood there, Carlisle's arm still around her shoulders, silently glaring at Bella. "It's not like we're keeping any secrets anymore, Ali." She rolled her eyes and looked back out at Edward. "But you and Carlisle being here, I'm guessing he's pretty confused at the moment."

"Well . . ." Alice sighed gently, gazing at the man she once thought of as her brother. Knowing Alice, it didn't matter that she and Edward weren't related by blood, he would still be her brother. "He's going to get a lot more confused in a little while."

As I looked over at Edward, I saw him snap something at the blonde man next to him, looking slightly angry at whatever he'd said. I looked over at Bella, whose gaze flicked from the blonde man to Alice with a small smirk. He must have been talking about her.

Bella told us to wait for a moment, before she walked towards the three men, each of them looking up, the two sitting with Edward smiling at her, while he just stared her down. Slowly, he began to stand up and follow Bella over towards us.

Here we go.

_**Edward**_

What the fuck were they doing here?

What the fuck was Bella thinking bringing them here?

I would deal with that later, but first things first, I had to deal with Daniels staring at my sister. Which was easier than I thought it was going to be. One look at the expression on my face he had tried to give me what looked like an attempted sneer, but it didn't work out too great before stomping off to go and sit with some other fuckers. Loser.

They were watching me. I knew they were.

Alice being here, I wasn't _too_ shocked at – well, apart from the fact that she was on the fucking wing, but hey – it was the fact that my fucking _parents_ were here as well. What the hell? Bella must have done or said something to get them to come in. Made them realise some shit.

Did that mean that she'd found something that could help me out?

"Dude," Jasper smiled suddenly. "She's really cute." I glanced in the direction he was looking and found that he was appraising Alice.

"Dude." I snapped at him and he turned to look at me sharply. "That's my sister."

"Shit." He muttered, looking back over there. "Sorry man, didn't realise."

"What are they doing on the wing?" Jacob asked, glancing over there, almost as confused as I was.

"Not got a fucking clue." I mumbled, looking up just as Bella started to walk confidently over towards us.

"Hey, Bella." Jacob grinned at her.

"Hello, Bella." Jasper greeted politely. _Always the fucking gentleman, aren't you, Jazz?_

I didn't greet her at all, which was rude of me, but hell, she had my family standing with her. I wanted to know what the hell was going on, and I wanted to know now. She didn't take her eyes off of mine, trying to convey something without saying anything. She wanted me to go with her, that much I knew. It was obvious that this was something pertaining to the entire family, or else they wouldn't be here.

I stood up slowly, following her towards where my family were waiting for her to return. Alice stood there smiling at me, her eyes watery. I could tell that she wanted to hug me as much as I wanted to hug her, but I couldn't. Not here. In private, yes, I could and I would, but not here on the wing.

Norton and Jameson stood in front of me when I got close enough to be deemed a threat. That didn't earn them anything except an eye roll from me which Alice snickered at lightly and earned and slight smirk from Bella as she resumed her spot next to my mother. My parents had no reaction other than to stare at me as though I was something that had come to life from a movie. _Yes Mommy and Daddy. Remember me?!_

Bella walked through one of the barred gates and I had Norton in front of me and Jameson behind me as I followed her. This was really fucking pathetic. Did they really think that I was going to hurt one of my own family members? Well, then again, they all thought that I'd murdered my fiancée for some reason, so I guess they did.

We made our way down to the same room that I had seen Bella in before – well, the first time anyway – and came to a stop outside the door while Bella unlocked it. She walked inside, my and my own personal escorts followed her in, while my family trailed inside after us. As soon as I was inside that tiny fucking room, I walked away from Norton and Jameson, leaning against the wall next to the window Bella had been at when I first saw her. I could see everyone from here. No one could make a move without me seeing it. Somehow, that made me feel slightly better about the situation.

"Do you need us to stay in the room with you?" Norton asked Bella quietly at the door and she shook her head.

"No." She glanced at me so quickly, I would have missed it if I hadn't been paying such close attention to her. "This is a private matter. Your assistance here won't be needed or useful in any way."

"Alright." Norton's eyes flicked to me in a silent warning, to which I stared back. She knew that her little 'warnings' meant jack shit to me. "We'll be outside if you need us."

Bella nodded before closing the door tightly, leaning on it for a second before opening her huge eyes and watching me closely.

"Edward?" A small whisper came from next to me before a pair of arms flung their way around my neck.

"Hey, Ali." I mumbled into her hair, lifting my tiny sister off of the ground for a moment.

"I've missed you." She whispered in my ear and I could feel her tears on the skin of my neck.

"I've missed you, too, honey." I whispered back. Alice was the only one I would ever and have ever called 'honey'. Not even Tanya had a nickname like that. Alice was the only one special enough in my life to earn that right.

I put her down gently, not really wanting to let her go, but knowing that I had to. After she unwrapped her arms from around my neck, one immediately wrapped itself around my waist, showing me support. I would need it facing off with my parents, but something in their expressions said that they'd had enough shit today. Even though they fucking owed me for practically abandoning me the last two years, I wasn't going to make what appeared to be an already shitty day for them even worse.

"Hello, Edward." Esme whispered gently, tears pooling in her eyes. She walked across the room, towards me, stopping in front of me, about a foot away. She held out her hand slowly and gently ran her thumb over my cheek, sighing as she did so, as though I was something she desperately wanted, but couldn't have. She opened her arms slightly, her eyes pleading and even though she had a lot of explaining to do, I had to say that I'd missed my mom. I pulled her into a hug and she let out a breathy chuckle, holding me tightly. "Oh, my boy." She whispered into my ear. "I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry." I could tell that she was. Didn't mean she wasn't going to get out of telling me what the fuck was up with her and Carlisle over the last two and a half years. "I've missed you so much, baby."

I didn't say anything, just inhaling the smell of my mom. She smelled the way she always had. Soft scents of rose, lavender and fabric softener that to me smelled home. How I wished that I was at home. Even at home with my parents and I wouldn't care. Just somewhere that didn't include an eight by eight cell and a whole load of other men. I would gladly take living at home over this.

She pulled away from me, looking into my eyes for what felt like forever, before she sighed and turned away, walking back over to Carlisle, who took something out of his pocket. He looked me straight in the eye and I could tell that he felt extremely remorseful over how I had been basically ignored during my trial. His gaze showed me his shame and guilt over how I had been in here and I knew then, in that instant that the two of them believed me.

Esme took whatever it was Carlisle gave her and walked back over to me. She handed it to me, blank side up before slowly making her way over to Carlisle. When she turned around she had tears running down her cheeks, Carlisle's were watering and Alice was almost practically sobbing next to me. I'd noticed that Bella had kept herself near to the door, wanting to be here, yet not intrude on what was obviously a family session. She wanted to be here as a mediator, I'm guessing. To make sure that everything was okay.

From the feel of what was in my hand, I could tell that it was a photograph. I turned it over, confused and saw a picture of a woman that looked remarkably like Esme, with the same brown hair with reddish tints – not as prominent as mine, but hey, whose were? – green eyes and a kind smile. She stood at probably the same height at Esme, maybe a tiny bit taller and she was pregnant. Not incredibly so, but enough so that you could tell, even through the loose sweater she was wearing. I looked up at my parents, wondering why they would give me this.

"I don't understand." I admitted, speaking to my parents for the first time in two and a half years. "Who is this?" I gestured to the photograph and the two of them seemed to sag as though the weight of the world had just landed on their shoulders.

"It's . . ." Carlisle started before a slight sniff escaped him. I had never seen Carlisle cry before, so seeing it now was extremely unnerving. "It's . . . your mother."

_What. The. Fuck?!_

_My _mother?!

"Excuse me?" I choked out, my voice barely audible. "What . . . what did . . . what did . . . huh?" _Great now I can't even make a proper sentence._

"I'm so sorry, baby." Esme whispered again, shaking her head, burying her face in her hands. "We're . . . we're not your parents."

She had said it as nothing more than a whisper, but I heard everything fucking syllable loud and clear.

They weren't my parents.

How the fuck am I supposed to process that?

"I'm know that this is a shock-" Carlisle started but I cut him off with a chuckle that sounded evil to even _my_ ears.

"That's an understatement." I muttered, looking back down at the photograph of the woman who was apparently my mother. "What the hell? Do you mind explaining?" I looked down at Alice, who still had her arm around my waist. "Did you know?" I asked her and she looked up at me, shocked.

"I only found out today. Do you really think I would have kept this from you?" She asked and I shook my head, sighing pulling her close to me. If there was anyone I could rely on on the outside, it was Alice. I knew that with everything that I am, but I guess having news like I've just received isn't something that's taken lightly, now, is it?

I looked over at Bella, who had a sad look on her face. "This is what you found out today, isn't it?" She looked at me, shocked that I knew she had discovered anything. "I noticed there was something off about the way you were after lunch. I figured you'd found something."

"Yeah, it was." She replied warily, gauging my reaction. I couldn't really blame her. Hell, if I was her I'd be fucking panicking right now. Standing in a small room with a prisoner that has been known to be short tempered and violent on occasion, just finding out that the people he'd thought were his parents his whole life, aren't, wasn't really the smartest thing on the planet. She was probably wondering why I was being so calm about the whole thing.

Why was I being so calm?

"Your mind is trying to sort through the information it's been given." Bella said softly. I didn't even realise that I'd spoken out loud. I shook my head, focusing on her. "It's gone into a kind of mental lockdown while you try and process it all."

"Right." I nodded slowly, not really listening to anything she was saying. Basically, I was freaking. Just not in the exploding, normal freak-out way, but in the quiet imploding, my brain is being fried from the inside out way. Not good. "Why?" Was the only thing I could think of.

"Maybe everyone should sit down." Bella suggested, indicating the table and chairs in the middle of the room. I was vaguely aware of Alice gently pulling me towards the table and sitting down opposite my mother with Alice one side and Bella on the other.

"Why?" I repeated, my voice a little louder, and the two of them looked at each other, Esme taking a deep breath.

"Alright." Her breath was shaky and she sounded afraid of what she was about to tell me. "Just after I found out that I was pregnant with Alice, my sister, Elizabeth, your mother arrived unannounced at our house, alone, cold and scared. She told me that she had just found out that she too, was pregnant." Esme spoke quietly, as though it caused her pain to recall the story. "She was afraid because . . . your father . . . well, he's not . . ."

"He's a cold-hearted bastard, is what he is." I looked at Carlisle, surprised. This was the first time he had spoken since arriving in here and it was with such malice and hate that I wondered if it truly was the man who had raised me sitting across from me. "I'm sorry." He shrugged, looking sheepish. "It's just . . ."

"It's true." Esme finished for him, not looking at all ashamed with herself. "He is. I don't like having to say this Edward but he's cruel, heartless and . . . and if he'd known about you, well, you wouldn't be here."

I looked up at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"If he'd known about you, about the fact that Lizi was pregnant, then he would have either forced her to get an abortion or he would have hurt her. . ."

"Causing a miscarriage." I finished for her, running a hand through my hair. I wasn't sure that I wanted to hear the rest of this story, but I knew I had to. I knew that if I didn't then I would only piece things together in my own mind and probably come out ten different shades of wrong.

"Exactly." She whispered and I looked up to see tears streaming down her face. "When I saw her the night that she came to our home, she looked at me with such fear, guilt and shame in her eyes that I was afraid. I was afraid for what had happened to my sister to make her feel this way. When she told me that she was pregnant, I was over the moon for her, thinking that we could go through our pregnancies together and raise our little ones together. She quickly put a stop to that notion though." Suddenly, a gentle hand appeared on mine, soft and caring and I looked up into the eyes of the woman I'd used to know as my mother. "You have to remember that she loved you, still loves you, wherever she is." She whispered and I nodded, closing my eyes as she carried on with the story. "She told me what would happen if your father ever found out and I couldn't believe what she was saying. I told her that she could stay with us through her pregnancy, but she knew that wouldn't be enough."

"What do you mean?" It was Alice that asked this question and I looked over at her, seeing tears falling down her cheeks. What a great day this was.

"She knew that if Edward's father ever found out about him, he . . . he w-w . . ." She didn't seem to be able to continue and I knew exactly what he would have done had he found out about me.

He would have had me killed.

Bella seemed to understand that at the same moment I did, as I heard a small gasp come from her. I looked at her to see her eyes were wide with fear as they watched me, watching my reaction. Alice had gone stock still and I knew she had worked it out.

"Monster." She whispered and I closed my eyes again.

"Yes." Carlisle replied, nodding his head, holding a sobbing Esme close to him. It seemed that the story telling had been passed to him as of now. "When Elizabeth told us what he would do should he ever find out about you, it shocked the both of us to the very core. We couldn't let him have even the slightest opportunity to harm you in any way. But we didn't know how to stop it. Your father was away on a round the world business trip for something or another, I don't know what and it would take up the best part of a year, so she was safe for the pregnancy, but it was protecting you outside of the womb that was the most difficult thing." He took a deep breath, clutching Esme tighter to him as he spoke. I had Alice's arm around my waist and Bella's fingers wrapped lightly around mine. Even though I hated to say it, it was Bella's touch that brought me the most comfort. Where her fingers came into contact with mine sending spiralling electrical tendrils up through my hands, working their way through my body. It felt alive for the first time in a long time, which was ironic considering the conversation we were having. "The both of them were about six months along when Lizi approaching Esme and I, telling us that she knew how to keep you protected and safe. She asked Esme and I to raise you as our own, making out that you and Alice were twins. We knew that there would be less than a week between the two of you, so it wouldn't be hard for us to spin. We agreed without a seconds thought."

"Why wasn't she there?" I asked, gazing at the picture again, just waiting for some sort of feeling to arise. And it was. I wasn't upset or anything like that. I was just really fucking angry. "Where the hell was she?"

"She said that she couldn't risk your father realising the truth." Carlisle whispered and I could feel him looking at me. "I could tell that it was the hardest thing for her to do, but she had to do it. To keep you safe."

I clenched my jaw shut, knowing that if I didn't, I wouldn't have been able to control what came out of my mouth. "Edward." I looked up at him and saw his eyes full of tears, a couple of them spilling over. "She loves you. She's never forgotten you. Every so often, we get a letter from her and all she ever talks about is _you_. She wishes that she knew who you were, how you were, what kind of a man you'd become, what you were doing with your life."

"I wonder what she'd say if she knew the truth." I snorted and he sighed, gently.

"I don't know." He shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "But I know that she'd believe you didn't do it. Just like we do."

I didn't know whether I believed it or not before, but hearing Carlisle say that he and Esme believed I was innocent took a real weight off my heart. Even though – I now knew – they weren't my real parents, they had cared for me and raised me when my own mother feared too much to do it herself. They were my parents, inside and out, biology be damned. Though they still had a lot of fucking explaining to do, I wasn't going to strip them of that title.

"Thank you." I whispered, looking down at the table. "For finally being honest with me."

"We should have told you this a long time ago. I know that. We both do. But we were complying with Elizabeth's wishes in not telling you. She didn't want you to know, and when you were eighteen try to find her. She didn't want you hurt. She still doesn't." He explained and I nodded.

"Well, it's not like I can get hurt in here, is it?" I looked up at him to find a sad look on his face. "It's okay . . . Dad." He looked up at me, his expression that of a shocked man. I guess he wasn't expecting me to call him Dad. It was still his title and he smiled in receiving it.

"What I'm wondering, is why you're not freaking out about this." He asked with a soft chuckle and I nodded slowly.

"Oh, I am." I clarified and he nodded. "Just not on the outside."

"There's something that . . . you need to have." He said softly, reaching into his inside pocket. How the hell had he gotten something in through the check? Oh, well, not that I needed to know. If they let him in with it, it couldn't be dangerous, could it? He pulled out an envelope. An old looking envelope with incredibly articulate writing on the front.

_My dearest Edward._

I looked up at Carlisle and he nodded, clarifying that it was from my mother. "That was the only thing she insisted upon." He tapped my name on the front of the envelope. "You being named after your grandfather, Edward Masen."

I nodded before taking a deep breath. "I, um . . . need . . . some time . . . alone. To figure this out." He nodded slowly as Bella stood up and walked over to the door, opening it and letting Norton and Jameson know that I was ready to go back to the wing. Something in my expression must have said that it wasn't a good idea to start with the normal con/screw banter, because they looked at me for a second and shut up.

I stood up slowly, hugging my family goodbye, not really paying attention to anything. Bella gave me a wistful look before a glance that told me she would be up to see me later on in private if there was anything I needed to talk to her about. I nodded once before turning towards the two screws waiting for me, following Norton back to the wing while Jameson held back waiting for my family.

"Everything okay, Edward?" Norton asked as we stopped at a gate and I looked at her, shocked that she had used my given name rather than calling me 'Cullen' as she did every other day.

"Um, I'm not sure." I looked down at the envelope again, examining the beautiful lettering on the front.

She didn't say anything else, just waiting for me to follow her through the gate before locking it again. Nothing else was said on the remainder of the journey back to the wing. That was one thing I liked about Norton. She didn't feel the need to fill this journey up with mindless chatter, allowing to let things be when she needed to.

When we got back onto the wing, it was empty. I glanced at the clock that was high on the wall, noticing that I had been with my family and Bella for more than two hours and it was now time for lock up. Norton led the way up the stairs to my cell, closing the door behind me, not as forcefully as she would do normally. Maybe she knew that there was something up today. I don't know. I wasn't going to divulge. Let her think what she wants.

I sat down on the pathetic excuse for a bed I had in my cell and carefully opened the letter, being careful not to rip it at all.

Sliding it out of the envelope, I realised that it was all handwritten in the same handwriting as the words on the front.

_My dearest Edward,_

_Reading this letter, you probably have a million questions buzzing through you mind, my dear one. Not all of which I can answer now. I just hope that the two wonderful people who have raised you as their own, as I could not, have managed to give you all the answers you need for the moment._

_I have no doubt you are feeling lost, sweetheart, and while I cannot provide you with a path home, I hope that I can give you a little light, lighting your way in the darkness ahead of you._

_Giving you up to your Aunt Esme and Uncle Carlisle was the hardest decision I have ever had to make, but compared with the alternative, I would gladly live through that pain over and over again, a thousand times, than risk you never entering the world. This way, even though I do not know you as a boy or a man, whichever you are reading this letter, I know that you are happy and safe from harm._

_I cannot promise you anything, my dear boy, only that my love for you is as endless as the night sky. I cannot allow any harm to come to you, dear one. It is the one thing I do share with other mothers', although I am not fit to call myself one. The need to protect you is strong._

_We may meet each other sometime in the future, my dear one._

_Always remember, even though I cannot be there throughout your life, to witness and celebrate alongside your achievements, to console you with your failures, to mark the milestones in your life, I will always love you, and you will always have a place in my heart._

_Forever, my dear son._

_Your mother, Elizabeth._

Looking up from the letter, I was completely numb.

Even though she couldn't raise me herself, she loved me. At least, that's what the letter said.

I didn't notice the door, slowly sliding open or clicking closed. I didn't notice Bella sitting down on the edge of the bed and wrapping her arm around me. I only registered that she was there with me, when her hand came up and her thumb gently brushed away a stray tear that had fallen as I was reading. I looked up at her and she had a small, sad smile on her face.

She leaned forward, pressing her lips to my jaw gently as I looked back down at the letter in my hands.

"Are you okay" She whispered gently in my ear, tightening her grip on me.

"What the hell does all this mean?" I whispered back and she shook her head, stating that she didn't know.

What did this mean for me now?

What would this do for my relationship with Alice?

What would my parents do?

I guess I needed to sort my shit out. And pretty damned quick.

_**Again, sorry for the length of time it took getting this up. I hope it makes up for it. Though I'll understand if it doesn't.**_


	8. The Promise

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER. SCREWING WITH THEIR LIVES AND SANITY IS FUN, THAT'S ALL.**

_**Edward**_

It had been a week since I had found out that the people I'd believed to be my parents all my life were in fact . . . not.

And I wasn't anywhere close to dealing with it.

I knew that Bella wanted to see me, to see how I was coping with it all, but I refused to see her. I couldn't. Not until I had figured out my shit. For some reason, whatever the fuck it may be, I didn't want her to see me like this.

I hadn't been socialising much, only hanging with Jake and Jazz at mealtimes, the rest of the time, going over the events of that day in my mind. It was like a monotonous turntable and I was unable to stop it.

Although, saying that I had given Daniels a beat-down when he decided that because I wasn't out in the communal area as much anymore, he was the new top dog. I had to laugh out loud at that one. As did many others. I made it clear to him that I was not going anywhere. Well, for now at least. I hoped that I could get out of here, sooner rather than later. Sooner, being my appeal in two months, later being in twelve years time when my sentence ended.

I sighed, looking at the small clock I had been allowed in my cell, realising that it was seven in the morning. They would be coming round unlocking for breakfast in a few minutes. I hadn't really had any sleep for the last week and I was feeling it. I knew that it wasn't good for me to stew, but there were things I needed to know. Things like, who _is_ my mother. I know her name, yes, but that doesn't tell me anything about her. What about my father? Why was she so afraid of him? Most people aren't afraid of their spouses. Of course, there are those that are and I wanted nothing more than to beat down every single asshole that made his wife, girlfriend or maybe even boyfriend feel like they weren't good enough. Like they were privileged to be with them. In fact, I _had_ beaten a couple of them who thought it would be a good idea to insult a woman who had done nothing wrong.

I looked over at the door, hearing the familiar sound of keys entering the lock. I sighed, sitting up but freezing when I saw that it was Bella standing there and not one of the officers. What was she doing? Like the last time she had entered my cell, she had a tray full of food in one hand and a small, yet sheepish smile on her face.

She closed the door and I heard it click, meaning that it had to be opened from the outside so that she could get out. There was no way that there wasn't someone waiting for something to happen. Hell, they all thought that I had murdered my own fiancée. None of them gave a damn about the truth.

She placed the tray of food down in front of me, sitting on the edge of my bed as she had done the last time. She hadn't spoken a word, yet I knew that she didn't have to. She was worried about me and that was unusual for this place in itself. No one worried about other people. People worried about number one, and that was it, so her kindness was alien in this shithole.

"You need to eat, Edward." She said softly after a moment or two. I hadn't relinquished my gaze on her and she blushed slightly, a beautiful pink colouring her pale complexion. "I'm serious." She pushed the tray towards me a little, pointing to it. "You don't eat enough when you're down with the others. Don't think I haven't noticed." She looked at me knowingly while I sat there in mild shock. I'd thought that because I hadn't seen her for the last week, she hadn't been there. How wrong I was. She had been watching me.

I sighed and pulled the tray towards me, picking up the coffee that was sat on the edge of the tray, taking a mouthful. I set it back down before I picked up the toast that was sat next to it, taking a mouthful.

"So, are you just here to make sure I eat?" I asked her as I finished off the slice of toast I had picked up.

"I'm worried about you, Edward." She admitted softly, looking away from me and staring with a renowned interest at the blanched white of the wall in front of her.

"Why?" I asked, knowing why she was and yet not wanting to acknowledge it. I couldn't really hope to think that this woman, this vibrant, beautiful woman would care about someone like me. She couldn't do. She was only worried because I was one of the inmates she had been obliged to look after while she was working here.

"Because you've barely left this cell in a week, you're hardly eating, Jasper and Jacob are getting worried about you-"

"You've been talking about me behind my back?" I asked, my head snapping up to meet her eyes.

"Not essentially, but you have come up." She sighed, running a hand through her thick mahogany hair before standing up and pacing a couple of steps. Well, a couple of steps is all she could manage in this tiny space. Because there was no space to move in. But I think that's the whole point, isn't it? "They're worried about you. They know that something's up and they know that it's bothering you. And it's bothering them that you're not talking to them about it. Just like it's bothering me."

"That I'm not talking to them about it?" I raised an eyebrow and she rolled her eyes, crouching down in front of me to talk to me.

She took my hand in hers, intertwining our fingers and staring at the differences between our hands for a moment before looking up into my eyes, a foreign emotion glittering there. "I'm bothered that you're not talking to _me_, Edward." She whispered, her eyes shining with the tears she obviously didn't want to shed. "You forget, I know. Jasper and Jacob don't, so they won't really get it, but-"

"And you _do_ get it?" I shot back and she bit her lip a little.

"When I was sixteen, I found out that the man I'd thought was my father, wasn't." She admitted, looking away from me for a second, before meeting my eyes. "Apparently, my mom had gotten pregnant and he was over the moon, but he wanted a boy. And well . . . when I came out a girl . . . he took off. We haven't seen or heard from him since. Shortly after I was born my mom met someone, who is now my step-father. But I believed him to be my real father. I look a lot like my mom, so I didn't really question it. But one day, I was looking for something and I came across my birth certificate. And the name written in the little space reserved for the baby's father, was not the name of my step-father." She looked up at me, her eyes sad and wide. She _did_ understand how I was feeling, so she probably understood how I needed the space at the moment. "I do understand, Edward. And I also know how self-destructive you can become if you don't let someone in. I understand. I know. Let me in. I can help you."

"Can you?" I shook my head, looking away from her. "I don't know, Bella." I whispered, closing my eyes and I felt her move the tray away from me, her weight dipping the bed next to me. Our fingers remained intertwined the entire time she was moving, neither of us losing that connection.

"Don't know what?" She asked, her tone soothing and calm. I knew that she wasn't in 'psychiatrist' mode right now. She was in 'friend' mode and that's what I needed right now.

"I don't know how I'm supposed to deal with this." I admitted, finally saying what I knew I needed to. Not just because she was a shrink, but because it was something I needed to get out. Before it ate me alive. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"You don't _have_ to do anything." She said softly, her fingers brushing over my forehead gently. I opened my eyes to see her gazing at me with such an intensity I had no idea what to do. I had never had anyone look at me like that before. Not even Tanya had given me a look that full of raw emotion.

But what did it all mean?

"What do you mean, I don't have to do anything?" I asked her, my tone harsher than I meant it to be, but if it bothered her, she showed no sign. "I have so much crammed into my head, trying to push its way to the front to be addressed first, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing! I mean, the people I thought were my family, aren't, I have a mother out there who apparently loves me and yet is afraid for my life and I have a father, whom according to Carlisle will kill me if he ever finds out about me. I'm sorry for being a little worked up right now, but that is a little bit to deal with right now, don't you think?"

"I know." She whispered softly, nodding, never taking her eyes off me. "But that's why I'm here. I'm here to help you, Edward. Not just because this place is paying me to. But because I want to. Because I'm your friend."

"No." I shook my head, looking down at our hands, thinking about how easily they slipped together. Like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. "You're Alice's friend."

"I want to be yours as well, Edward." Her tone was so genuine that I had to look up at her. I wished I hadn't because the expression on her face was nothing but caring and compassion. Could it be that she really did care about me as a person rather than just an inmate in the fucked up prison she worked in? "If you'll let me in."

I sighed, looking out through the bars, seeing nothing but the brick of another building that made up the expanse of the prison. God, I hated this place. And I wanted out, more than anything in the world. I knew that there was a chance that Bella could help me out of this place, however slim it may be. Maybe that was proof enough that she really does care.

"I can try." I whispered to her and she gave me a small smile.

"That's all I can ask." She replied in the same volume, giving my hand a squeeze. I knew that she meant every word that came out of her mouth.

"I just don't understand any of this." I moaned, running a hand through my hair before dragging it down my face. I shook my head slightly, wanting to get rid of the pesky thoughts that were plaguing my mind.

"I know." She nodded slowly, closing her eyes just as slowly before opening them, looking at me with a fierce determination. "But we _will_ find out what's going on. Emmett seems to think that it _might_ have something to do with your case, but we're not one hundred per cent sure."

"How could it?" I looked at her in confusion, wondering where she got that information or inclination from. "I mean, what does my parentage have to do with why I'm stuck in this shithole?"

"I don't know." She shook her head, biting down on her lip slightly. "But Emmett seems to think that there might be some correspondence there."

"And you trust him?" I asked, wondering who this 'Emmett' guy was.

"Completely." She smiled at me. "He's an old friend who just so happens to be a computer genius. He's completely clueless when it comes to anything else, but give him a computer and there's no one better."

"Alright." I sighed, nodding and looking down at our intertwined hands again. "If you trust him, then so do I."

"That's great, Edward." She smiled at me. This wasn't a smile of sympathy or pity but it was a genuine, toothy smile. "Right, now that that's out of the way, you need some sleep."

"I'm fine."

"No . . . you're not." Her fingers brushed against the skin just under my eyes as her eyes followed their trail. "You're exhausted. I know you haven't been sleeping."

"So?" I lifted my shoulders, dropping them in a shrug. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not." She sighed again. She reached into her shirt and pulled out a small clear bag with a couple of white pills in them.

"Are you _trying_ to lose your job?" I asked, confused and concerned about the lengths she was going to to help me. I couldn't let her lose her job because of me. "Because you're going the right way about it if you are."

"No." She laughed slightly, shaking her head. "Don't worry, it's nothing illegal. It's something a friend of mine picked up when she was in England a little while ago. It's called Nytol. It helps you sleep."

"So you're knocking me out?" I raised an eyebrow at her, and she shook her head again. "Or at least hoping to."

"No. It doesn't _put_ you to sleep. It eases you into sleep, relaxing and all that. It really works and I think it'll be really good for you. You need to sleep, Edward." She handed me the bag and I looked at her, my disbelief etched into my face. "It's fine, Edward. But you're not. You really need to sleep."

She really was going to extreme lengths to help me. I couldn't help but wonder why. Why was she putting her job at risk to help me, in more ways than one? Why wasn't she content with seeing me in the small room that she had reserved as her own? Why did she feel that she had to help me? Was it because of Alice? Was it because she had been friends with her for so long that she felt she had an obligation to help out her brother?

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, looking away from her and staring at my lap. I had to admit that having to rely on someone else to help me made me feel like a cop out, but on the other hand, I knew that I couldn't do this on my own. If left to tackle this on my own, there would be no doubt that I would be in here for the next decade or so. I didn't think I could last that long in this place.

"Because I don't like to see the innocent suffer." She replied softly in a matter-of-fact tone. I looked up at her to see a determined expression on her face. "Now, take the Nytol and get some sleep. I'll tell them that you're not feeling well and should be left to sleep for a while."

Again she had amazed me. She was putting her job on the line for me. If anyone found out about how she was helping me, in so many different ways, she would lose her job and wouldn't be employed in this service again. But then again, I wasn't sure how adverse to that situation I was. I didn't like her being in here. Surrounded by all of these assholes. It wasn't good for her.

I nodded slowly, taking the small pills out of the bag and swallowing them. I needed to sleep, I knew that, but I couldn't seem to switch off. I hoped that these would help me. She took the bag off me again, putting it back into her top where it had appeared from. Probably one of the only places she could put it without it being noticed. Again, I didn't like the risks she was taking for me.

She picked up my tray and gave me a smile before making her way over to the door, banging on it twice. I settled back on my bed, sighing and closing my eyes as the door to my cell opened and Bella made her way out. I heard the door shut completely and I knew that must have been a request of Bella's, wanting me to have some privacy for once. Or at least, as much as possible in this place.

I wasn't sure how long it was after Bella left my cell before I became slightly drowsy. Taking that as a sign that the pills Bella had given me were working, I turned on my side and closed my eyes, wanting to escape this miserable ass-fucked place for a few hours.

_**Bella**_

Would you believe me if I told you that I wasn't the only one in this place concerned about Edward?

Well, it's true.

Sam had been noticing Edward's behaviour changing as much as I had. I could tell that he wasn't sleeping, at least properly, he wasn't eating, he spent most of his time up in his cell and he was cutting Jasper and Jacob out, which was something – according to the rest of the staff – that had never been done before.

Though, the only difference between Sam and I was that I knew what the cause of all this was. Sam didn't.

When I offered to speak to him before unlock, Sam was more than obliging, not wanting anything to happen to any of the inmates. He might seem hardnosed a lot of the time, but he really did care for the men in here. He didn't want them hurting in any way. Even though they were convicted cons, he still saw them as people. And that made me warm up to Sam even more.

I took Edward some breakfast, as I had done the last time I had seen him in his cell. Not that it was for any good. He hardly ate any of it. He drank half the cup of coffee and a piece of toast. That was all. I could work out, roughly, that for someone his size, he needed to be eating around three times that for each meal, depending on his exercise schedule and such.

He looked apprehensive about the Nytol that I had given him, but I was telling the truth when I told him what it was. It was something that my friend Irina had brought back from her visit to London. She knew how I sometimes had trouble sleeping and that nothing over here really worked, other than the really heavy stuff you could only get from through a prescription and that knocked me out for days. Literally. It knocked me out for around two days and even after that, I was still a little loopy. So I didn't take it. Only unless I hadn't slept for about a week, then I might have gone there.

Banging on the door to be let out of Edward's cell, I looked over at him, seeing him lying back on his bed a troubled expression gracing his beautiful features. Someone so pure and beautiful shouldn't be in a place like this. It would destroy him. I knew he felt like it already had, but compared to the others in this place, he was strong and for the most part, whole. Others let it drag them down, conforming to the prison ideal.

I closed the door, hearing the lock click and Mark raised an eyebrow at me, clearly confused.

"He's not feeling well." I informed him, indicating to the hardly eaten breakfast on the tray. "I think we just need to let him sleep for now and I'll check on him a little later on." He nodded, his eyes narrowing at me a little.

I made my way down the stairs, him following closely behind me. I could feel his eyes boring into my back as we walked towards the disposal area for the prisoners trays and towards the small staff area just off the wing.

"You know, correct me if I'm wrong, but you seem to be getting very close to Cullen lately." He stood there, his arms crossed over his chest and even though his posture was relaxed, I knew he was anything but.

"Excuse me?" I shot back, mimicking his posture as I stared him down. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly that." He shrugged, his eyes not leaving mine. "Out of all the men, you seem to be fussing over Cullen the most. Especially in this last week."

"Well, if you'd kept your eyes open, you would have noticed his behaviour over the last week. Doesn't it seem different to you? Doesn't it seem strange that he's managed to go a whole week without getting sent down the block or sending Daniels' to the infirmary? I'm 'fussing' over Cullen because there is something wrong with him. He's had a big blow in the last week and as the wing psychiatrist, it is my job to work him through it."

"It just seems that you're getting more involved than you should be." He sighed, his arms dropping by his side.

"I'm not." Was I really that transparent? "My concern at the moment is Cullen and helping him through the issues that he has at the moment."

"Which you're not going to tell me." It wasn't a question, more a statement because he knew that I wasn't going to tell him. Especially not what was really going on between Edward and I.

"Even in here, what happens between a doctor and a patient is confidential. I need the men to trust me, and I'm not going to get that through spilling their secrets to the prison officers, am I?" It was a rhetorical question and he knew it, so he gave no answer.

"I'm just worried about your safety, that's all." He sighed, running a hand across his forehead.

"I know." I nodded, my own posture relaxing. "But you don't need to be. Cullen is feeling down at the moment. He's stressed and I think it might be to do with the fact that his appeal is coming up soon. I'm not sure he knows how to progress with any of it."

"You think he can get out?" He asked, walking across to the table and sitting down on one of the uncomfortable plastic chairs they gave us to sit on.

"I hope he can." He looked up at me confused. "After reading his file, things don't add up and I don't believe that he is guilty."

"What things?" Mark asked, leaning forward. Being a simple prison officer, he wasn't allowed to read the files of the inmates. Being the psychiatrist on the wing gave me such authority to do so.

"Like the fact that his solid alibi was overlooked. He had witnesses to where he was at the time of the murder and it was all completely ignored. When he was found, he was purely in the wrong place at the wrong time." I explained, not going into detail about what I knew, but giving the bare necessities. Well, what it said in his file anyway. I wasn't going to add what I knew from reading the files that Emmett had sent me.

"His alibi was ignored?" He asked, sounding shocked and I nodded.

"He was with his sister, whose testimony was completely brushed aside as though it meant nothing. They didn't even approach the college professors he had been with earlier on that evening. I don't know." I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "It's hard for him to deal with. Personally, I think he's gearing himself up for another ten years or so in this place. And I think . . ." I trailed off, not really knowing how to put my feelings into words.

"What do you think?" He asked, sounding genuinely curious. I knew that nothing I said to Mark would go any further. Though a lot of the officers in this place – as well as the inmates – thrived on gossip, not really having anything else to make their days pass any faster, Mark didn't. He saw it as being a fruitless way to alienate people, undermining and humiliating those it is centered around. If a secret was told to Mark, it would remain a secret.

"I think that if he has to remain in here . . . it'll destroy him." I whispered and he thought for a minute, not answering me. "I know that you all think that he's probably just a troublemaker, but he's not. All he wants is to get out of here, get back to his family."

"Bella?" I turned to see Angela looking at me with a serious expression on her face. "Hale and Black would like to talk to you."

"Alright." I looked at Mark, pleading with him not to tell a soul what I had just told him and he nodded, a small smile in place. I stood up and walked over to Angela. "Where are they?"

"I've sent them down to your private room." She nodded and I smiled at her. I knew what Jasper and Jake would be wanting to talk to me about.

Edward.

They were worried about him. He hadn't been interacting as much with them as he used to and I knew that it was the news of his parents that had done it. He obviously hadn't told them about that. Not that I blame him.

I unlocked the door and walked into the room and saw the two of them standing there anxiously, waiting for me. Jasper was leaning against the wall, staring out the window – which had _finally_ been cleaned a couple of days ago – chewing on his thumb nail, his leg bouncing up and down in a rapid movement. Jake was pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair and tugging on it every few seconds.

"Hello, you two." I smiled at them as they both turned around to look at me, their expressions stressed. "What can I do for the two of you?" I knew the answer to this already, but I knew I had to ask it, just to be sure.

"We're worried about Edward." Jake said sitting down in front of me. Straight to the point of course, Jake. Jasper nodded as he took a seat next to Jake, staring down at his hands.

"I know you are. I am as well." They both looked up at me, surprise written in their expressions. "What? You thought that I hadn't noticed his change in behaviour?"

"Well . . . kind of?" Jasper shrugged, turning what should have been a statement, into a question.

"I have and I'm going to be working with him to get him through it." I assured them and they both smiled at me.

"What happened?" Jasper asked, his eyes wide, wanting . . . no _needing_ to know what was going on with his best friend.

"I'm afraid that's not for me to tell." I sighed and they nodded slowly, sadly. "You need to ask Edward if you want to know. You two are his best friends in here and I'm sure that he'll let you in. He just needs to know that you're there for him. Having real friends in a place like this has got to be a hard thing to come by." They nodded, knowing that what I was saying was true. Finding someone you could truly rely on and trust in a place full of liars, thieves and murderous beings was not an easy task and more often than not, you ended up being stabbed in the back.

I talked with Jasper and Jacob for a little while and they both told me their worries and fears when it came to Edward and I learned that both of them were afraid about what would happen if Edward lost his appeal. They seemed to think along the same lines as me. They thought that there was a very good chance he would slowly self destruct. They told me that prison wasn't the place for people like him. He was too good for prison. I most definitely agreed with them on that one.

After about an hour or so – though it didn't feel like it with those two – I led them back onto the wing. They had told me they wanted to talk to Edward, but they weren't sure how to. I had told them to just let him know that if he wanted to talk to anyone, that they were there. They understood how important it was for him to know that as they followed me up to his cell.

"I'm not sure if he's still asleep." They nodded as I placed the key in the lock and twisted. "If he is, come and see him a little later, okay?" They nodded and I slipped inside the cell, closing it almost fully. I had told them that I would check to see if he was awake and would call them in if he wanted to see them.

Looking at him, he looked as though he was still completely out of it, although it had been a good couple of hours since I gave him the Nytol. It seemed it had done the trick. I knelt down in front of his face and brushed a few of the hairs out of his eyes. I jumped slightly when his hand came up and took hold of mine gently, his fingers clasping mine in a firm grasp. His eyes opened slowly and I smiled at him.

"Hey." I whispered and he smiled back. "How're you feeling?"

"Better." He let go of my hand, rolling onto his back and stretching out.

"You know, Jasper and Jacob are worried about you." I told him, diving straight in to what I needed to talk to him about. No point putting it off, right? He turned to look at me, confused. "They came and spoke to me earlier. They're worried about you."

"I know." He sighed, sitting up and leaning against the wall behind him. "I just . . . don't know what to tell them, you know?"

"How about the truth?" I asked and he looked down at me quickly as though I was insane. "They're not going to judge you for it. You know this." I sat on the edge of his bed so that I was level with him, looking into the deep green eyes that still held so much pain and so many secrets. I wanted to unravel each and every one of them. I wanted to know him better than anyone else did. I wanted to know his body, mind and soul. "They're your friends and they're worried about you." I took his hand in mine, squirming internally at the hum of electricity that seemed to flow through our hands. "You can tell them. They're not going to abandon you."

He closed his eyes and I hoped that my words had some kind of an effect on him. He sighed gently, running his free hand through his hair, his eyes blinking open and looking at me.

"You're right." He whispered gently, looking back to our joined hands. "I do owe them the truth. It's not fair that they've been there for me for the last two years and I'm keeping them out like this."

"They're there for you, Edward." I whispered, before I stood up and throwing all my inhibitions out the window, leaned down and pressed my lips to his gently before straightening up and walking out of the cell, gesturing for Jasper and Jacob to go in.

I hoped that this would work out for the best.

_**Edward**_

Watching Jazz and Jake walk into my cell I knew that I had been a complete and utter fucking douche this week. I had locked them out when all they had done was be there for me and support me when they knew I needed it.

Why was I such a fucking screw-up?!

_Rhetorical_ question there!

"Hey." The two of them made themselves at home in my cell, just as I hoped they would. I couldn't deal with them being all awkward especially after all this time.

"How you doing?" Jake asked from where he was sat cross-legged on the floor. That was where he always sat, no matter if Jasper and I offered him somewhere to sit. He always sat on the floor. Weird fucker.

"I don't know." I answered honestly. "I really don't."

"You can talk to us, you know." Jazz told me honestly and I nodded.

"Yeah." I sighed, closing my eyes and running my hands through my hair. I opened my eyes and looked at the drawer that held the photograph of my mother and the letter she had written me before I was born. I leaned over and pulled the photograph out and handed it to Jazz, who looked at it and back up at me, confused.

"Who is it?" He asked, clearly trying to work it out as he passed it to Jake.

"My mother." I said softly, looking away from the two of them.

"I thought that woman we saw last week was your mom." Jake said, gazing at the picture before handing it back to me. "She's pretty."

"She's beautiful." I whispered slowly. "And so did I."

"What do you mean?" The two of them looked beyond confused at my words and I knew I had to explain.

"They people you saw last week aren't my parents. Apparently, they're my aunt and uncle. My mom was too afraid of my father to tell him about me, for fear of losing me to him so she turned to Esme and Carlisle. She asked them to raise me, and they did. I found out last week that they're not my parents and now I don't know what the fuck to do."

"That's messed up." Jasper whispered slowly.

"Do they know where she is?" Jake asked and I shrugged, shaking my head.

"I don't know. I haven't seen them in years. Apart from last week, that is." I looked at the two of them to find that they were both deep in thought.

"Don't worry." They both looked at me. "We're going to help you in whatever way we can."

I knew that they would and I couldn't help but smile. Who would have thought that being in here I would meet the two best friends a guy could ever have?

Why had I ever doubted them?

_**I know it's short and it probably sucks but hey, I'll see what I can do to make the next chapter better. The drama will be starting soon, so hold on.**_

_**Who else in the UK is getting as pissed off with the snow and ice as I am?! Gah!**_


	9. The Meeting

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER. SCREWING WITH THEIR LIVES AND SANITY IS FUN, THAT'S ALL.**

_**Edward**_

"Cullen!" I looked up to see Norton motion me towards her with a backwards nod of her head. "You got a visitor." With that she turned and walked in the opposite direction.

I gave Jasper and Jacob a 'what the fuck' look before standing up and following her.

"Who?" I asked her as I approached her but instead of giving me an answer she turned on her heel and walked away from me. Seriously, what the fuck?

Glancing back at Jake and Jazz I shrugged and followed her, wondering like hell what was going on. They glanced at each other, a questioning look passing between them. Whether they were questioning who could be visiting me or questioning my sanity, I wasn't so sure.

I was so glad that things between Jazz, Jake and I were still all right. I knew that I had been a complete fucking dick this week and didn't expect anything from them. But they acted as though nothing had happened.

What the hell did I do to deserve these two as friends?

Bella had been incredible over the last couple of days. She insisted that I come and see her every day, in light of everything that had been discovered, said and done. I had to admit, I had to agree with her.

It might be hard, but I knew I had to talk about all the shit that was going on in my head. It'd drive me fucking loopy otherwise.

I think she's going to need another fucking notebook soon as well.

Enough said.

Of course, it wasn't just the state of my mind that was talked about in the daily sessions Bella had practically enforced. It was everything to do with my case as well.

Apparently, her friend Emmett had discovered that my father had been somewhere in Europe when I was born and after he returned from whatever he was doing over there, neither he nor my mother were seen or heard from again.

That is until around three years ago, when my mother got in contact with Esme again. I didn't know what was said, and I was hoping to find out this afternoon, but Emmett had only been able to trace that one phone call from the number registered to my mother to Esme.

I wasn't sure I wanted to know how Emmett was getting all of this information.

But I was sure that it was most likely done by means that would have him in a cell a little way down from mine, should he get caught.

At the moment, that was all we had to go on, which is why I'd taken the card that Carlisle and Esme had given me when they left the other week and dialled Esme's number. I needed to know what was said between Esme and my mother. Did she mention me at all? Did she regret her decision to give me up?

She had agreed to come in and see me, though I don't think she was one hundred per cent sure what it was about. Maybe it was better that she didn't know before I had a chance to say.

She stopped outside the door two down from where Bella had her time with the inmates on the wing. I couldn't help but want to be going through that door. Was it stalkerish of me to want to be with her even though I knew I was going to see her in a couple of hours anyway? Yes, it probably was fucking stalkerish.

I stepped through the door and I couldn't help but feel my eyes widen a little at what I saw. The guy standing in front of me was enormous. Bigger than Jake.

And he was more intimidating in that respect too. With Jake, he exuded ease and calm, giving off the happy demeanour he was generally known for – other than the little lapse he had with the fucking house of course, but hey, we can't all be perfect, can we?

This guy on the other hand, I could tell that he meant business as he turned around.

He was pale, just a shade darker than I was, but it wasn't by much at all. His hair was short, sitting in dark curls on the top of his head as his blue eyes seemed to evaluate me standing there in the doorway.

Norton seemed slightly smug as she closed the door, leaving me alone with the miniature giant. Where's Jake when you need him?

It was obvious that he could handle himself, but then again, his size didn't really say 'come pick a fight'. Actually it kind of said 'run in the other fucking direction'. That was until the small grin graced his face.

"Edward?" He stepped forward, holding out his hand as I nodded slightly. "Emmett McCarty." _So _this _is Emmett?_ "I thought that it would be best for me to come in and talk to you over what I'd found in person, rather than having Bella deliver messages for me."

"Um . . . okay?" It came out as a question rather than a statement. I knew my face was nothing more than a mask of confusion. This was the guy that had discovered my parentage and some part of me wanted to know how. Another part didn't want to know jack shit about anything.

I shook my head slightly, sitting down at the table where he had made himself at home.

"You seem a little out of it." He chuckled and I shook my head again, with purpose this time.

"No. I'm fine." I sighed, letting out a single laugh as I ran my hands through my hair. "This is just . . . bizarre, that's all. I mean, I don't know what the fuck I'm trying to say."

"No wonder Bella's so interested in you." He mumbled, catching my attention immediately.

"What?" I felt my own brow furrowing as he sat there, his expression probably matching my own. "What did you just say?"

"I said that out loud?" He clearly didn't know he'd spoken aloud and I nodded. "Oops." He smirked at me and I raised my eyebrows, silently asking him to elaborate on his remark. "Never mind."

"No." I shook my head, not breaking eye contact. "What did you mean by that?"

"Dude." He put up his hands in mock surrender, leaning back in his seat as he chuckled, shaking his head. "I'm too attached to my balls to tell you about that. You want to know, you gotta ask Bella."

"Coward." I muttered and he nodded, not seeming embarrassed in the least. To be fair though, Bella could be freaking scary when she wanted to be, so it was no wonder she had all the inmates on this wing pretty much under her thumb. All the guys on here listened to her, though I was sure that most of them wanted in her fucking pants at the same time.

Not if I could help it.

I wasn't sure when I'd become so protective of Bella. Maybe it was when she had shown concern over how I was with the discovery of my parentage. Maybe it was before then. When she had decided she would help me. I wasn't sure, but I knew that I would do whatever I could to help her in whatever way I could. In here, I couldn't do much, obviously. But if I won my appeal, I would be getting out of here, and hopefully, I would be all right again.

"Bet you're wondering why I'm here, aren't you?" Emmett's voice jolted me out of the slight daze I was in.

_To be perfectly honest, I'd forgotten you were there, _is what I felt like saying, but I don't think it would have gone down too well, considering what I had been thinking about would probably be obvious and he had gone to the trouble of coming here personally. I kind of owed him.

"A little, yeah."

"I'm here because of . . . this." He dropped a file down in front of me.

"What is it?" I raised an eyebrow at it, probably looking as though he had chucked a fucking enormous venomous snake in front of me or something.

"Take a look." He gestured towards the file and I slid it towards myself slowly, before opening it.

I drew in a breath as I saw the photograph sitting on the top of the sheets in the file.

It was my mother.

My birth mother, that is.

In the photograph Emmett had acquired, she looked just like Esme. Her eyes were a slightly brighter green than Esme's, closer to the colour of mine than hers, but they were the same shape. A shape I had inherited from her. Not necessarily round but slightly oval, adding more depth to her facial features.

She was even more beautiful in this picture than she had been in the one Esme had given me.

"This picture was taken two months ago." I looked up at Emmett, seeing the serious look on his face. "In Chicago."

"What?" My voice was barely audible as I looked back down at the picture. She was in Chicago? She was so close and yet so far from me. But then again, at the moment, it wouldn't matter if she camped herself outside the prison walls, she could only see me for an hour or so every week. That's if she wanted to.

Emmett leaned forward, pulling out what looked like a world map from underneath a few other pieces of paper. There were several marks on them, at least one on every continent. Taking a closer look it seemed as though there were about thirty different locations marked on there. I looked up at Emmett in confusion and he rested a finger on the map, sighing gently.

"This," he tapped the map twice with his finger, "shows all the locations your birth parents have lived since you were born. From the info that I've been able to pull, they've never settled too long in one place, which kind of makes you wonder what's going on there. Or at least, it would . . ."

"If someone didn't have you." I said softly, gazing at the map, seeing him nodding in agreement, a small smug smirk on his face. "So . . . what _is_ going on here."

"Well . . . it seems that your daddy is not abiding by the law very well." He shook his head and I raised an eyebrow. "I've managed to find all of these hidden bank accounts, money flowing freely from them. In and out. And there is only one supplier and one receiver."

"What do you think, then?" I couldn't work out where he was going with this.

"I'm not one hundred per cent sure, but I know I can find out. And I know it's not above board." He flipped the map over, uncovering a shit load of bank figures. There were so many numbers on the paper in front of me, I couldn't really understand them all. Hell, I might have been in college when I was arrested, but that didn't mean I had a head for numbers. "You see what I mean?"

"Honestly?" I glanced up at him. "No." He chuckled slightly. "I've never had a head for numbers in a big way. If I did, I would have probably been at college for something like Advanced Maths or some shit like that."

"Fair enough." He laughed again and I couldn't help but smile slightly. It was no wonder Bella had gone to him when wanting to find out about my past. He was easy to talk to and although his size made him intimidating to look at, I got the impression that the only reason you had to worry about him was when you hurt someone he loved.

"I have a question." He nodded, indicating for me to carry on. "What does this have to do with my case."

"Well . . ." he shifted slightly, leaning forward, resting his hands on the table in front of him. "From the information I've managed to gather about your father – your birth father that is – and what Bella's told me about what your parents said when they came to see you," I nodded, remembering that Bella had asked me if it was okay for her to divulge what had been said to Emmett, "I don't think Tanya was the one who was supposed to die the night you were arrested."

"What are you talking about?" I felt my brow furrowing in confusion before what he had said sunk in and I felt physically sick. "You mean . . ." I sat back in my chair, running a hand through my hair roughly, tugging on the ends as I tried to process what he had just told me. "You mean that someone meant to . . ."

"I think so." He nodded, his gaze sorrowful and apologetic at the news he had just broken.

It wasn't supposed to be Tanya that died that night.

It was supposed to be me.

"But . . . why?" I let out a deep breath. "Why would someone want to kill me? I've never done anything to anyone. Well, at least _then_ I hadn't." I rolled my eyes, thinking of the people I'd pissed off while I was in here.

"Bella told me what your parents said about your father." He replied stoically. "Think back to what they said."

What the hell was he on about?

What my parents had said?

I tried thinking back to that meeting.

"_. . . and if he'd known about you, well, you wouldn't be here."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_If he'd known about you, about the fact that Lizi was pregnant, then he would have either forced her to get an abortion or he would have hurt her. . ."_

"_Causing a miscarriage."_

"My father." I whispered, my head dropping into my hands. "You think that my father hired someone to try and kill me?"

"It's possible. Considering what your parents said last week. The financial transactions and the almost world travel, it would appear that he and your mother have not had any other children. It's possible that he found out about the phone call your mother made to Esme and found out about you."

"How could anyone do that, though?" It wasn't really a question I wanted answering. Just one I was throwing out there to get it to stop running rampant in my head. Not that it was working, but it was worth a shot right?

"Look, I don't know if that's the case. I could be way off base here-"

"And how often does that happen?" I asked, looking up at him, making eye contact.

"What?" He seemed confused at my question, a small crease in between his eyebrows appearing as he looked at me, watching me for something I wasn't quite aware of.

"How often are you 'way off base'?" I reiterated and he sighed, looking away from me and shaking his head.

"As of yet, I have yet to be." He replied and I nodded, looking down at the mess of paper in front of me. "Look, I don't know what's going on here. But I'm going to find out, alright?"

"Why are you helping me?" I asked, my voice nothing but a whisper. "I mean, you know the risk of you doing this, right? Especially bringing stuff like this," I gestured to the file in front of me, "in here. You're just asking to be put in a cell next to mine."

"Well, I'm smart enough to cover my tracks wherever I go." I replied cryptically and I decided I didn't want to know. "And as for _why_ I'm helping you . . . well . . . Bella seems to think your worth it and I trust her. But just so you know, anything happens to her and I'll be occupying your newly vacant cell. Understand?" I nodded, knowing that this guy could probably snap my neck as easily as he would a thin twig in the middle of winter.

"I've gotta get going, but here's my cell number." He handed me a card, which I slipped into my back pocket. "You think of something that could help you, gimme a call."

"Will do." I nodded, standing up as he did so. "Hey, have you found out why Alice's testimony was disregarded?"

"I'm working on it." He nodded, a small smile on his face. "Say hello to Jasper for me."

"You know Jazz?" I heard the shock and surprise resonating through my own voice and he laughed.

"Yeah." He nodded, still laughing slightly. "His twin sister is my fiancée." _Twin sister?!_ "Guessing you didn't know he had a sister, right?" I shook my head, thinking about how I was going to weasel that one out of Jazz when I got back to the wing. And find out _why_ he hadn't said anything.

"Wait, no offense here, but leggy blonde? Looks like she should be on a catwalk?" I raised an eyebrow and he nodded.

"That's my Rose." He sounded so damn proud of her and I couldn't help but feel a little jealous. I had wanted someone to feel that way about.

With Tanya, I hadn't ever really seemed to find anything to go 'wow' about. She was gorgeous, yes and she knew it, using it to get what she wanted more often than not. She hadn't ever really reached out to me in any way. I didn't feel _connected_ to her. And now, thinking that it could have been because of me that she was dead, I felt more guilt than grief.

"I wondered who she was." I nodded, glancing out of the window for a second. Unlike the window in the room Bella used, you could actually see out of this one. It wasn't much of a view but then again, it was better than watching the individual particles of dirt that had accumulated on many of the surfaces in this building.

"Well, now you know." He chuckled lightly, shaking his head.

"Yeah." I nodded, folding my arms across my chest. "And now I get to make Jasper squirm with what I know."

"You didn't know he had a sister?" Emmett's eyebrows shot up as I shook my head. "Huh. And he knew you had one?" I nodded and he laughed, shaking his head, hopefully, at Jasper's idiocy. "Just don't hurt him too much. Rose won't be happy and she's not one you want to piss off."

"I'll bear that in mind." I nodded, turning around as the door opened to reveal Norton standing there, glaring at me. What the hell was up with her lately? She was even more moody than usual. "Thank you."

"No problem." He smirked, making his way out of the opposite door to the one I was required to go through. I glanced down, seeing that he had moved all of the papers and such back into the folder. _When the fuck had he done that?_

I didn't really have time to contemplate it before I was being shoved down the hallway.

_**Emmett**_

Bella had been right about this Edward and the more I dug into his own background and the backgrounds of the people involved in his life – directly or indirectly – the more I discovered that fact.

Sent to boarding schools his entire life, he had graduated high school with a perfect four point oh and straight A's. Before he had been arrested he was attending medical school and from the route he had begun to take, it was clear that he had been interested in cardiovascular surgery.

I couldn't find anything that matched up with Edward actually committing the crime he had been accused of and sent down for. Normally, there's _something_, don't you think?

But no.

He had been with his sister at the time the victim was said to have been murdered and the body was cold by the time the police got there, which wouldn't have been possible if the nosy neighbour that had phoned it in had decided to go round as soon as she'd said she had. If he'd only just done it, the signs would have been obvious.

Unfortunately for Edward, there were residents of the building commenting that they'd not seen him leave earlier that day and that his car had been in its spot the entire time. It just happened to be the day that he had gotten a lift from his sister. The guy seemed to have no one willing – other than his sister – to stand up for him.

Which upon meeting him, I couldn't understand.

The professor of his late class – which consisted of something like six students and him – had disappeared for the duration of Edward's trial. According to records, no one had been able to contact or find him at all within those six months or so. He had vanished.

And the students in his class refused to say anything at all. They were all tight lipped about what had happened at the class and about Edward.

Seemed no one gave a shit whether he was put away.

But as I looked, there was one thing that was becoming clear. The constant relocations of his parents. At each new turn, I looked for where they could possibly be in the world, mapping out their routes and settlements as such, because I knew that Edward would want to know. As detrimental as it might be to him, if I hadn't provided that little bit of information on the people that created him, he wouldn't have been able to concentrate on anything else. His mind would constantly be flicking to where they were, how they were, what they were like and such. It wasn't something he would be able to help, but we needed him to concentrate on his appeal and getting out of this place. At only six weeks away, it was getting close.

I guess that the most disturbing thing I had discovered about his parents was that they were in Chicago at the time of the murder of Edward's fiancée. I didn't want to think that they could have anything to do with it, and once I'd acquired Esme and Carlisle's contact details and spoken with them, I knew that his mother couldn't have known about it.

His father on the other hand.

Information on his work had been spotty at best, but I had been able to discover that he _had_ been a lawyer at one point. Just before Edward was conceived.

But the sums of money going into and leaving his account on a regular basis were not conducive to that façade. There was something else going on beneath the surface and before I could get anywhere with helping Edward, I had to find out what it was.

Looking up at the prison as I walked out, I couldn't help but wonder how many innocent men were incarcerated in there. Probably more than there were guilty. I knew I couldn't help all of them get out of that hellhole.

But I could help a certain top dog.

_**Edward**_

Standing in the little interview room Bella used to talk to everyone in here; I couldn't help but pace slightly. I was stressing and I knew it wasn't conducive to gaining the information I needed to know.

"Edward." Bella sighed, making her way over to me from where she had been standing next to the window, right where she had been when I had first laid eyes on her. Somehow, she was even more stunning now than she had been back then. Maybe it was because I knew about her gentle soul and the fact that she was one of the only people who wanted to help me. "You need to calm down."

"I know." I sighed, running my hands through my hair as I continued to pace. I couldn't calm down, not matter how much I tried to, I couldn't do it.

"Then why don't you?" She asked and I turned to see the smug smirk on her face.

I had told her what had transpired between Emmett and I, thanking her for setting that up in the process. He would have had to come through security check – as all visitors do – and he would have needed his files checking. They would have known instantly what he was up to if they had done that. So the only logical explanation was that she had somehow managed to avoid his things being searched.

Neat party trick, that one.

"Because . . ." I sighed, stopping and running my hands through my hair. "Because finding out that it was supposed to be you that died instead of someone else . . . it's hard to deal with."

"We don't even know if that's fact." She placed a hand on my arm, her eyes intently watching me as I stared at the window. "Emmett was just letting you know all of the information he'd come up with. Although I wish he'd waited a while, letting you absorb the lesser details before hitting you with that one. A genius Emmett may be, but he has no tact. When they were handing out subtlety in line, Emmett was out the back of the building, smoking up." I couldn't help but chuckle at that one. She had a point. He was very direct and to the point. Even though one part of me was glad he had told me all he had found out, the other part wanted to remain in the dark.

I didn't want to think that my own father would think about killing me for whatever reason.

"But with how my parents were and what they said when we spoke to them, what Emmett's said makes sense." I sighed and she nodded, her left hand taking hold of my hand gently as her right ran up and down the back of my forearm.

"I know." She sighed gently, looking down slightly. "But . . ." she looked back up at me, her eyes determined. "We can't concentrate on that right now. We need to concentrate on getting you out of here."

"How can you be sure that my appeal's even going to go through?" I sighed, flopping down in the chair. At the moment, I had just about given up wishing for anything. What did I had to live for on the outside. At least, in here, I was respected. On the outside, I would be nothing more than an ex-con. No one would hire me, I had no friends other than my sister. I had no money, nowhere to live.

It's very depressing when you realised that you have more when you're a convicted con than if you get released. At least in here, there's a roof over your head and you know you're going to get fed.

On the outside, it's anyone's guess as to where you'll end up.

"Because I believe that you can do it." She sat down across from me. I avoided her gaze as she watched me, letting out a breath. "You're afraid, aren't you?" My eyes flicked to her, wondering how she was so good at reading people. "You're afraid of what will happen when you're released."

"_If_." I corrected and she shook her head.

"No. When." She smiled at me, slight dimples appearing in her cheeks, making her look completely adorable. "You _are_ getting out of here, Edward. I have no doubt about that. This time, we'll make sure they look at Alice's testimony thoroughly and Emmett will be working on finding the professor from the class you were in."

"Why?" I shook my head, not understanding where he came into anything.

"Because his disappearance wasn't a coincidence, Edward." She placed a hand on mine as they rested on the table. I couldn't help but look down at it, wanting to be able to hold it in a place that wasn't dingy and dirty and full of murderers, paedophiles and convicted criminals. She deserved better than this place. "And the fact that he reappeared only _weeks_ after you were sentenced, only reinforces the fact that there was something else going on here."

"So, what we're saying is that, someone wanted me dead. That didn't work, so they had me locked up instead." I ran my free hand through my hair, not wanting to break the connected I had to Bella. "What I don't understand is _why_. I mean, I didn't do anything to anyone. I didn't get into fights, I didn't owe anyone anything. I don't know why someone would want to hurt me like that. It doesn't make sense. And especially for them to hurt Tanya . . . I just don't understand."

"Well, that's what we're trying to figure out." She said softly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "Now . . . what is it about the outside that's scaring you?"

"I don't know." I sighed, shaking my head miserably, knowing that she wouldn't let that go as an answer. "I guess, it's the fact that if I get out, I'm starting with nothing. I mean, I don't even have a place to live on the outside. I have no idea what I'm going to do. No one is going to hire an ex-con, to do _anything_. Even if I'm actually found to be innocent. It won't matter that it says 'not guilty' or whatever, people are still going to see that I'm an ex-con and not give me the time of day."

"Not everyone's like that." She shook her head, her hair flowing over her shoulders as she watched me intently.

"Yes, they are." I deadpanned, meeting her eyes for the first time in what I think was the entire session. "They are, Bella. People are cold and judgemental. You might find that one person in your life who doesn't give a shit about what you've done, where you've come from. That one person that can see through all the fuckery that's happened in your life. Someone who accepts you for you and doesn't listen to what others say. Someone like . . ." I trailed off, looking down at our hands on the table again, which I knew when to stop talking when she was around me.

"Someone like . . .?" She questioned and I took a deep breath. She would push until she got what she knew was the truth.

"You." I whispered gently and her expression turned into one I couldn't read.

"Me?" She sounded confused at my words and I nodded.

"You care so much about something you really shouldn't." I shook my head, breaking eye contact yet again.

"And what would that be?" Her tone was confident. Defiant.

"Me." I didn't meet her gaze. Shocker, huh?

"That's a load of bull." She retorted and my eyes shot back to her face, which was holding an amused expression. You don't seem to see what a kind, caring, beautiful person you are, Edward. And I think I know why." I raised an eyebrow, silently asking her to elaborate and she sighed. "It's this place. It's destroying you." Her hand moved to cup my jaw, her fingers gentle and soft as they came into contact with my skin. "You have a beautiful soul, Edward. Don't let this place destroy it."

Why was it, when she said something like that, I almost believed her.

But no, those with beautiful souls weren't put into places like this, guilty or not guilty. She was wrong about me and she should stay away from me. Steer clear. And I should be doing the same to her.

But I couldn't find the will to avoid her.

My strength had disappeared.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


	10. The Talk

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER. SCREWING WITH THEIR LIVES AND SANITY IS FUN, THAT'S ALL.**

**I suck at updates, I know.**

_**Edward**_

_Holding the phone to my ear, I glanced around, making sure that there was no one around that would overhear my conversation. I didn't want anyone else knowing what shit was happening with me at the moment. Not something you want broadcast around a prison wing._

_The phone rang twice more before it was picked up. "Hello?"_

_I let out a sigh of relief when I heard that it was my mother that had picked up the phone. She was the one I needed to talk to after all. "Mom?"_

"_Edward?" She sounded slightly stunned, as if she didn't truly believe I would actually call her. "Is that you baby?"_

"_Yeah, mom, it's me." I couldn't help but smile at the contented sigh I heard over the phone. Maybe she really _was_ happy I had called her._

"_Is everything okay, honey?" Her voice sounded so full of concern and I knew I had done the right thing by cutting all the chicken shit I had been feeling and calling her._

"_Yeah, mom, everything's fine." I took a breath, closing my eyes and resting my head on the wall behind me. "I need a favour."_

"_Of course, honey, what is it?" She sounded too eager to help me. Especially considering she didn't know what it was I needed._

"_If I sent you a V.O., do you reckon you could . . . come and see me?" The last part came out as a whisper as I didn't really trust my voice to work properly._

"_Of course." She sounded ecstatic that I had asked her to come and see me. Who knew someone would get such a thrill out of coming into a shithole like this. "I know that your father wants to see you so badly and we could-"_

"_No." I cut her off, shaking my head even though she couldn't see me. "Not Dad. Um . . . I just need to talk to you. Just . . . you."_

"_Are you sure everything's okay, Bubba?" I squeezed my eyes closed, biting down on my bottom lip. She hadn't called me 'Bubba' in years. I had never forgotten the nickname she had for me. It made me feel closer to her somehow. She hadn't forgotten it either and that seemed to secure a tiny piece of my heart back into place._

"_Yeah," I sighed, opening my eyes slowly to see Bella standing there at the end of the corridor, watching me with a small smile on her face. "Well, as good as can be in a place like this." I took a breath again as Bella gave me a small nod. "So . . . will you come?"_

"_Of course I will, sweetheart. There's nothing that could stop me." The sincerity in her voice reassured me that she did still want me. She _did_ want to come and see me._

"_Thank you." I whispered softly, my voice not responding when I wanted it to. "Look, I have to go, Mom. I love you."_

"_I love you too, my Bubba Boy." She sniffed lightly and I knew she was crying._

_It had been so long since I had heard anyone utter those words to me. They felt foreign, like I didn't deserve them. The look on Bella's face assured me that even though I knew she hadn't heard the words, she knew what had been said and she agreed with them._

_She thought I deserved my mothers' love._

_I gently put the phone back in its cradle and rested my head against the wall. I closed my eyes, relishing the feeling of the cold concrete against my hot skin._

"_Hey," I turned to see Bella standing directly against me. "That was brave. You're stronger than you think, Edward. And when you get out of this place, you're going to see that and you're going to realise how many people you have that care about you."_

"_Don't you mean 'if' I get out of here?" I asked and she shook her head._

"_No." Her tone was strong, confident and fierce. "I mean 'when'."_

_She walked in the direction of her room, seeming so confident that I believed her._

How was it that I had been able to believe Bella's words about the possibility of me getting out of this place when she had said them, yet waiting for my mother to be granted access so I could see her was a completely different story.

I had spoken with Bella quickly this morning and she explained that it was most likely because I was coming face to face with someone I thought had abandoned me after my arrest and sentencing. I knew now that they hadn't. They had been afraid for me. They didn't know what was going on and they didn't want to risk any hurt coming to me.

I guessed they figured it was better for me to be locked away than dead.

I wasn't sure I agreed with them.

I wasn't meeting my mom in a private room today. Apparently that had only been swung by Bella's influence among the screws and her belief that it was better for me to have the initial reunion with my parents in a private environment.

How the hell did this girl get so influential so fucking fast?

I looked up when they opened the doors and the visitors started to walk in. I kept an eye out for my mom, giving her a small smile when I saw her. She all but ran over to me, throwing her arms around me when she reached me. She barely gave me time to stand up before she was sobbing into my shoulder.

"It's okay, mom." I whispered in her ear, running my hands through her hair gently. She had to calm down or the screws were going to take her out of here and I wouldn't be able to get the answers that I needed. I only had an hour as it was and I knew that wouldn't be nearly enough time. "Calm down."

"Cullen." I turned to see Jameson standing there, his eyes flicking from my mom to me. What he was telling me was clear: calm her down or she has to go.

"Mom," I whispered gently, pulling away from her. "You have to calm down or they're going to make you leave."

"What?" She looked up at me, her eyes wide before looking at Jameson. "I'm okay." She sniffed slightly, taking a deep breath. "It's just a bit overwhelming. I'm okay."

"You sure, ma'am?" He looked at me as though he wanted to haul me off to seg in that instant, and I hadn't even done anything wrong.

"Yes." Her voice was stronger than a moment ago and I looked down at her, admiring how strong of a woman she was. "Now, I'd like to sit and have a visit with my son and I don't want any eavesdroppers. I don't care if that's what you're there to do, I haven't seen Edward in a long time so you're not going to cut what time I do have with him short."

"If you're sure, ma'am." He looked between the two of us, his expression seeming to register where I got my brass balls from.

We sat down and I laughed lightly as she took my hands in hers. "I've never heard anyone other than myself talk to him like that."

"Well, you had to get it from somewhere, didn't you?" She smiled, her eyes combing every inch of my face, as though she was trying to commit it to memory. There were a few marks that were different from the last time she had seen me properly, before I was arrested. Battle wounds, if you will. Shit that comes from trying to stay afloat in a shithole like this. "After all, your father's not one for confrontation, is he?"

"I guess not." I shook my head, letting out a sigh. "Mom, I . . . I, um . . ."

"I know there's a reason you wanted to see me without your father here, Edward." She said softly, giving my hands a soft squeeze. "I know there's something on your mind. You might not be . . . you might not be _mine_, but . . ."

"That's just it, though." I shook my head, wondering how I was going to word this without it coming out completely fucked up. "I _am_ yours. She . . . she might have given birth to me . . . but in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't matter to me and it shouldn't matter to you."

"It doesn't." She whispered, her eyes never leaving mine.

"Good." I took a deep breath. "You were the one that raised me. You and dad taught me everything I know. You both encouraged me in school, you taught me how to cook and play the piano, and dad taught me how to throw a ball and how to fish. The two of you taught Alice and I how to put up a tent without it collapsing on us every two seconds. She might be my mother but you're my _mom."_ There were tears welling in her eyes and I didn't want to see her cry, no matter what the reason. I didn't care that they may be happy tears. My mom was too beautiful to cry. "I know about the phone call."

"What?" She sounded taken aback by the information and I nodded.

"I know about her calling you. When she was in Chicago three years ago."

"How?"

"You know Bella?" She nodded, smiling gently at the reminder of the woman who had been able to orchestrate this whole thing. I owed her so much. "She has a friend who is . . . kind of an expert at digging things up. He managed to find the phone records for her phone and it showed up about the phone call she made to you."

"You're right." She whispered, biting her lip gently. "She did call me."

"What about?" I couldn't help the pleading in her voice. "Why did she call you?"

"Why don't you ask me the question you really want to know the answer to, baby?" _Damn, the woman knew me too well._

"Did she ask about me?" It was nothing more than a whisper but it was all I could manage.

"You were the first thing she asked about." She sniffed, squeezing my hands. I could feel Jameson's eyes on us, but a quick glance told me that he was across the room, near to a couple that seemed to be having a heated discussion over something. There were chances that could get violent so he needed to be closer to them. "When she called me it was completely out of the blue. She told me that she was in Chicago and wanted to see me, but she knew she wouldn't be able to. It broke my heart to know that she was so close yet I couldn't see her. My sister was in the same city as me for the first time in twenty-four years and I couldn't even see her because of that monster of a husband of hers." She took a breath, shaking her head slightly, brushing her hair out of her face. "As soon as she said that, the line went silent and I wondered if she'd hung up. I hadn't heard a click, so I didn't want to let go of the phone until I knew for sure. When she spoke, she sounded so full of fear and pain and regret and it made me want to say, fuck that man and come and see me and . . . come and see your son. Do you know what she said?"

"What?"

"Is he happy?" She sniffed again, blinking a couple of times. "She asked me if you were happy and if you were safe. I told her that you were and that you didn't know a thing. I knew it was wrong of us to keep it from you, but it was what she wanted, what she _needed_ for us to do at the time. She couldn't see you hurt."

"Then why not leave my father?" I asked, so confused about all of this.

"I don't know." She shook her head, looking down at our intertwined hands. "All I can say is that I think she was scared of him. She probably still is. He's a dangerous man, Edward. There's no telling what he'll do to someone he wants out of the way."

"I think I know." I whispered and she looked at me, her brows furrowed, confused. "A couple of days ago, Bella's friend came to meet me." I didn't want to say his name out loud, slightly worried about the repercussions if he was discovered. "He said that with everything he'd discovered about my birth father . . . it wasn't Tanya that was . . . she wasn't the one who was supposed to . . ." I couldn't say it but looking at my mother, who was so desperately wanting to know what I was trying to tell her, I knew I had to. "It wasn't Tanya that was meant to die the night I was arrested."

Her hand flew to her mouth as she let out a sob. I could only hope that she didn't lose it. "Are you sure about that?"

"Look, I don't have the information. It's Bella's friend that does. You'll have to ask her for anything he's got on this." I grasped her hand again she seemed to relax a little. "What did she say to you?"

"She um . . . she said that she knew giving you to Carlisle and me was the best decision she could have ever made." She whispered, reaching out to touch me, but realising that anything other than hand holding during a visit wasn't allowed. A hug at the beginning and end of a visit was it and that fucking sucked. "I could see the pain in her eyes and I knew it was tearing her heart out as she handed you to me, but she knew she had to do it. Just like she knew she had to keep you a secret. The staff at the house she lived in didn't even know she was pregnant. The only ones that knew she was expecting you were her, Carlisle and I.

"She told your father that she didn't want to stay in a house where she felt so alone all the time, so she was going to stay with Carlisle and me while he was away. I knew that he wouldn't be happy about that, but he was in England at the time and we knew he would be in Europe until at least the next year." She smiled slightly as she replayed her memories in her mind. "When she was pregnant with you, the way she would just sit there and stare at her belly as you grew, the amazement and wonder in her eyes and smile. It was as though there was nothing more precious to her than you, growing inside her at the moment." She sighed, her tear filled eyes flicking to me again. "I tried so many times to get her to leave your father, to get her to come and live with Carlisle and I. I tried to convince her that she would be safe with us, that he wouldn't be able to hurt her.

"But all she said was that she couldn't. That she would never be safe from him. She said that there was only one thing she cared about in this world and that was keeping you safe. When she had you just after I had Alice, literally hours. And she is older than you, by the way."

"What?" I knew I sounded whiny when I heard my response in my own ears, but I didn't really care. "Can't catch a break, can I?"

"Oh, shush." She giggled lightly and I felt a small smile appearing on my own face. Laughing suited my mom a lot better than smiling did. "Anyway, I knew that it was so hard for her, but she handed you over to Carlisle just like she said she always would. She didn't want to, but she had to. To keep you safe."

"She shouldn't have _had_ to give me up to keep me safe." I said softly and she nodded, looking down at our interlocked hands. "She should have listened to you."

"I know and I think she knows that but . . . there's not really much we can do about it now, is there?" I shook my head, hating that she was right. "When she called me a few years ago, I swear I had never been so relieved to hear someone's voice. It had been so long since I'd heard from her that I'd begun to think the worst . . ." She trailed off, not needing to finish her sentence. "All she asked was 'is he happy?' She didn't want to know anything else, other than if you were happy and if you were safe. She didn't need anything else."

"Have you heard from her since?" I asked, wondering, hoping maybe that since Emmett had said she was in Chicago a couple of months ago, that she would have called my mom again and maybe she was still here. She shook her head and I doubted my mom knew about Elisabeth's presence in Chicago. "I don't know if anyone's told you this, but . . . she's here." She looked up at me, her eyes wide. "Or at least, she _was_. In Chicago. A couple of months ago. Bella's friend managed to find that out."

"Did he find out where?" I shook my head and she seemed to deflate a little.

"I'm sure he'll be able to given half the chance."

"Looks like I need to have a word with Bella, doesn't it?" I nodded, smiling slightly. "So . . . what's been going on?"

"You really want to hear about the inner workings of a prisoner's day, Mom? Seriously?" I raised an eyebrow and she giggled again. "It's not all that interesting."

"I can't even imagine what it's like for you in here." Her gaze wandered around the room, taking in the bland paint on the walls, the barred windows and deadbolt doors. "It's so bland and drab in here."

"Well, they're not going to hire a top-notch interior designer for a bunch of cons, are they?" I reasoned and she sighed. "Didn't think so."

"So," she gave me another small smile, her eyes filling with tears again. "How's your appeal going?"

"Honestly, I have no idea." I ran a hand through my hair, letting out a breath. "I mean, we're hoping that they'll actually listen to Alice's testimony this time and Caius has managed to pull some of the files from the records." Considering the case wasn't technically closed until I'd won or lost my appeal, the Chicago police had to keep the files on hand in case one of the lawyer's for each party wanted to get their hands on it. It was still unclear as to _why_ Alice's testimony was ignored, considering she had made a statement with the police stating that she was with me from the time I left the college block until we said goodbye outside my apartment building. She had even given me a ride home that day. "Bella's been a great help. I don't know why but she's doing everything she can to help me get out of here. I mean, why should she even bother?"

"Because she sees what we can all see in you." I looked at her, confused and she smiled at me, shaking her head. "Innocence. You _are_ innocent, Edward. We all know that, as does Bella. She knows that you don't belong in here, so she's trying to get you out. And maybe . . . when you _do _get out because I refuse to believe that you aren't." Well, that shut me up. "Maybe when you do get out of here, you should take her out, you know as a thank you."

"Mom," some part of me had known this was coming and the teenage boy in me wanted to cover his ears and run for his room.

Unfortunately, that wasn't possible for me at the moment, so I had to endure my mother's embarrassing talk.

"Seriously, I think you two would be perfect for each other." She sounded so certain as she sat there, watching me.

"No, Mom." I shook my head, leaning back in my chair. "No. She's too good for me. I'm not the same person I was before I came in here. Being in here . . . it changes you. You can't stay who you were on the outside. It's not possible. You have to adapt, purely to survive in here. Bella deserves so much better than that. It's not fair to her to expect anything from her _if_ I get out. For all I know, all she wants is to help the poor little inmate coming up for appeal. How do I know that, whether I win or lose this appeal, she won't move on to someone else afterwards, seeing that I don't need her help any longer?"

"Because Bella's not like that." My mom said sternly and I internally cringed at the disciplinary tone I had heard throughout my childhood. "I have known Bella for a long time and there is not a manipulative bone in her body. Sneaky ones, yes, but manipulative, no. She's doing this for you because she knows you don't belong in here, baby. She knows you're too good for this place."

I rested my elbows on the table in front of me, running my hands through my hair again. "But . . . what if I'm not?" I whispered, looking up at her as she watched me carefully, judging my words.

"Time." I groaned at Jameson who was keeping an eye on me as my mother stood up, her eyes filling with tears again.

I wrapped my arms around my mother, willing the tears to stay at bay at least until lock up. That was I wouldn't have to show any weakness on the wing. Sounds sad and pathetic I know, but hey, in here, it's how you survive.

"I love you, Mom." I whispered and she nodded into my shoulder, sniffing as she pulled away.

"I love you too, my baby boy." She pressed a kiss to my cheek and I was thankful she wasn't wearing any of that ridiculous lip gloss shit my sister loved to coat her lips with constantly.

Jameson walked up beside the two of us, taking hold of my arm as I let my mother go, placing a kiss on her forehead, whispering that I loved her again.

I didn't look back the we walked back through to the corridors separating the wings, knowing I wouldn't be able to leave my mother standing there as tears flowed down her cheeks. I heard her let out a small sob as I walked through the door and I bit my lip and clenched my fists as I walked back onto the wing, hearing that small sound being replaying in my head over and over again.

"So, Cullen." I felt a scowl forming on my face as I heard the one voice that could really piss me off today. Not just today, any day really. I turned slightly to see Daniels smirking at me from where he leaned on the wall, taking a pull of his cigarette. "Who was the hottie visitor you had?" I felt my fists clench, my nails digging into the palms of my hands as I fought to contain my anger. "Wouldn't mind getting on her. Wonder what she'd sound like screamin' my name."

Whirling round, I grabbed his collar and slammed him up against the wall. The little cronies he'd managed to gather flew out of the way, scattering across the wing. I heard Jasper and Jacob behind me, shouting my name, trying to get me to calm down as I stood there, seething. It would be less than a minute until the screws were on us.

"Say that again, bitch and spend another week in the infirmary." I snarled and he smirked, though the fear in his eyes was palpable. He knew I wasn't kidding.

"Never knew you were so protective, Cullen." The waver in his voice knocked the cockiness right out of it. "Don't want to share your Sugar Mamma?"

Pulling my fist away from his collar, I saw red. After my fist made initial contact with his face, everything around me melted away. I couldn't hear the other inmates screaming at the top of their lungs, nor could I hear the screws trying to get everyone under control as they tried to break us up.

I knew that Bella was probably around somewhere, but I didn't find it in me to care. She didn't have what I needed right now. She couldn't help me calm down.

The next thing I knew, there was a pair of enormous arms wrapped around me, pinning my arms to my sides and crushing me to an enormous chest.

Jake.

"Calm down, man." He muttered in my ear, his grip tightening. "You're gonna fucking kill him."

"Good." I snapped, shaking my head, the red haze still clinging to the corners of my mind. "At least I'll be in here for actually committing a crime."

"Black, get him to the infirmary." One of the screws shouted at him and I felt myself being forcefully moved backwards. They were allowing Jake to take me to the infirmary rather than risking him letting me go and me finishing what I had started on Daniels's face.

That's a shame.

He looks so much fucking prettier now.

"Come on," Jake yanked me backwards again, the direction still confusing me as I struggled against his grasp. "Let's get you to the infirmary." Why the fuck were we going there anyway? "Because your hands are shot and gonna get infected if you don't get them seen to." _Must have been speaking out loud again._

A couple of minutes later we were in the infirmary, Jameson and Norton watching us, Jake sitting opposite me and me cuffed to the bed I was currently sitting on as they stitched up the deep gashes on the back of my knuckles. I didn't even realise I'd hit him that hard. Evidently I had. I let out a sigh, shaking my head. I wanted to run a hand through my hair, but considering one of them was cuffed to the bed and the other had a needle running through it at the moment, that wasn't really a beneficial plan.

"All done." The doctor stood up, grabbing some bandages and wrapping them around my hands tightly. "I wonder how many more times I'm going to have to stitch your hands back together, Cullen." He sighed, shaking his head and I glared at him, not really caring for his sarcastic comments or his tone.

I looked at the bed three over from the one I was sitting on, seeing Daniels, laying unconscious, also cuffed to the bed. Bastard. Should have strangled the fucker.

"Hey," I was pulled out of my glare by Norton snapping her fingers in front of me, drawing my attention back to her. "You're in enough shit because of that little asshole. Don't go getting yourself in any more." She turned to look at Jameson who tore his eyes away from me to look at her. "You alright to take Black back to the wing?"

"I don't want to leave you with Cullen." He glared at me again, earning himself an eye roll courtesy of yours truly.

"You think I don't know how to handle him?" She countered and after a few moments he back down, pulling Jake off his seat.

"See ya later, man." He gave me a small wave before walking out of the room, Jameson following.

"Well, you won't be seeing him for another week." I looked up at her, feeling tired and run down as she sighed. "You're on seg again." I let out a breath. "You gotta stop doing this. It's not going to help once it gets to your appeal."

"I know," I sighed, as she uncuffed the ring holding me to the bed. She retrieved a longer set of cuffs, securing one to her own wrist before linking the two of them together, effectively linking her to me.

"You can't let him get to you." She yanked on the chain signalling it was time to go and I hopped off the bed, following her out.

"Easier said than done."

"What did he say to you?"

"Doesn't matter." I sighed, closing my eyes for a moment as I walked.

She left it at that, knowing that she wouldn't get anywhere with me.

Walking down the familiar corridor I started to feel something in my stomach twinge a little. I wouldn't be able to see Bella while I was down here. Surely, she wouldn't be allowed.

But then again, she was a psychiatrist, so who knew. I knew I shouldn't have been getting attached to Bella, at all. Like I had said to my mom, she deserved so much more than I could possibly ever give her. Maybe if we had met before all this shit had started, before I had been forced to become what I am now, back when I was someone who would go out and do all that stupid mushy shit because I wanted someone else to feel better or would sit there and listen when someone had had a shitty day and just needed to unload.

I wanted to tell myself that I could be someone like that for Bella, but the truth of the matter was, I didn't know that I could I had less than a month until my appeal and here I was, banged up in seg again. I didn't know what the hell I was going to do if I didn't win this appeal. I couldn't begin to imagine being stuck in here for another twelve years.

Norton stopped in front of a familiar cell door – although they all looked the fucking same, so who knew which one it was – opening it and leading me inside. She unhooked the ring from around my wrists before walking towards the door again. She gave me a look that told me she didn't really want to leave me in here again, knowing that Daniels was an insufferable little shit that would continue to be a pain in my ass until he was either transferred out or I did some permanent damage. Which I wasn't far off.

I sat on the hard excuse they had for a bed, slipping my shoes off and dropping them on the floor. I rested my head on the wall behind me, my mind wandering back to a place that would only send me insane before long.

Bella.

I knew that I couldn't be who she needed me to be. Even though I had been on top pretty much since I got in here, this place had left me scarred. And not just physically. There was shit that happened here that you didn't ever want to know about. Nobody ever wanted to sit through nights of not being able to sleep purely because there are men sobbing in the cells surrounding you, or because there's someone from across the yard that believes he's possessed, wailing all through the night until one night there's nothing. Nothing but silence. It then turns out that the reason for the silence is because he's shoved his sock so far back into his own throat that he suffocates.

Nothing written in any book ever prepares you for the scenes caused when you find that someone you called a friend has been murdered in the middle of the night by their cell mate, or that someone has been raped in the showers just after you've stepped out.

Nothing on television can prepare you for the sordid little dealings and meetings that happen out during recreation, the prices people have to pay, watching someone as they're wheeled out after an overdose of something that's been smuggled in.

Nothing you could ever hear on the news prepares you for the complete and utter mind fuck that is the screws when they're doing a cell spin. When something's gone missing and they decide they're going to tear the place apart to find it.

Nothing on the outside prepares you for the shit you get in here.

And no one can say that they haven't been changed after being on the inside. There's no way you can remained unchanged. Things happen within these walls that most on the outside could ever _dream_ of.

That was one reason why I thought that the prison was completely fucked up taking someone like Bella on to work here. Yeah, she was strong and scrappy, but did she have it in here to survive the dosings of shit that are going to be launched her way daily?

Only time will tell, I guess.

There was the sound of keys in the door and I looked over to see Bella enter the small room. She looked around it, sighing gently before shaking her head and closing the door.

"I can see why you're down here so much. I just _love_ the interior." I rolled my eyes at her sarcasm, unable to hold off the small smile fighting its way onto my face. "You wanna tell me what happened today?"

I sighed, looking down at my bandaged hands. "Not really."

"Why not?" I shrugged and she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Obviously something he said got to you. Or you wouldn't have reacted the way you did."

"How would you know?" I shot back. She raised an eyebrow at me and I shrugged. "You haven't been here long. How would you know what it takes for him to push my buttons?"

"Well, considering he was in the infirmary when I first arrived here and you were probably sitting exactly where you are right now, I'd say it's not too hard to figure out." She had me there. "But over the last couple of weeks, you've been able to show some restraint when it comes to Daniels. Like the day your family came to visit and he was staring at Alice. I, personally, thought you were going to pummel him. But you didn't. Which leads me to believe that you _can_ control your anger. But when it comes to Daniels, some part of your doesn't want to."

"And how does that help me now?" I shifted, watching her and she smiled at me.

"It doesn't. Not really. It's just my theory. You gonna tell me what happened today?" She tilted her head at me, expecting an answer. Not really wanting everyone to know what that pathetic little asshole had said about my mother, I didn't say anything. Not that she'd tell everyone, but you get what I mean. "No? Not gonna talk? She sighed gently, looking away from me. "Did it have anything to do with your Mom?" My eyes snapped up to look at her before I could stop them and she gave me a small smile. "I know she was visiting you today and Daniels had a visitor, so I put two and two together. I'm guessing it was something about your mom, yeah?"

"Yeah." I sighed, knowing she wasn't going to relent.

"What was it?" I shook my head, not wanting to repeat the words. "You're really not gonna tell me, are you?" I shook my head again, looking over at the tiny barred window, letting in a small amount of light. It was only midday and it was bright outside. What with it being the middle of June, it was going to be a long time until the sun went down.

"What's the date today?" I asked realising I had no idea.

"June 18th." She replied quickly, smirking at me. "Stop deflecting." Is that what she thought I was doing? I had just realised I was going to be in seg for my birthday. How depressing is that? "Why do you think you attacked him the way you did?"

"Because he's an asshole who shouldn't disrespect people's mothers in that way." I muttered and she gave me a small smile. She knew how much my mom meant to me, even with all of the revelations that had come out recently.

"Don't you think there's a better way to resolve that anger than by using your fists?" She asked, still writing things down on her pad.

"Nope."

"Why not?" She looked around carefully. "I mean, don't you think it would be easier to sort out using words and being on the wing rather than using your fists and ending up here?"

I let out a breath. "Bella, in places like these, words mean nothing. The one who uses words is the one who gets raped in the shower. The one who uses words is the punch bag for every other fucker in here. The one who uses his fists gets respect because he dares to lash out. The one who uses his fists doesn't get shit from anyone other than the little smartasses who think they're good enough to take him on. The one who uses his fists is the one on top, Bella. There's no place for words in here."

"It's a shame." She sighed and I leaned back on the wall again, resting my arms on my knees. "Because with your intelligence, you could have that wing following you without you having to use your fists."

"If you believe that, then you haven't really done your job properly."

I had been right. She was too innocent for a place like this. She belonged in a cosy little office, not a prison wing filled with men thinking lewd thoughts about, surrounded by people that wouldn't think twice about forcing her into submission.

No, she knew nothing about what it was like on the _other_ side of the bars.

. . . . . . . .


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm so sorry to inform you lovely readers that this is not an update. This isn't twiXlite in fact! It's me Shelby0321! *****waives hand frantically at all you wonderful people**** ***

**My darling friend twi asked me to let you all know that she is down a laptop right now and cant update any of her stories, or answer your messages and reviews! I offered her mine but alas she is an ocean away! (I've seriously considered UPSing {****is that even a word?**** } mine to her. Seriously I need my Edward fix!) But don't you worry she has informed me that she has lots of notebooks**** {she's kickin it old school for the moment****} that she is diligently writing new chappies in! So if you want updates soon, please send money to PO Box..haha just kidding. (well not really if you would like to donate to a wonderful cause…and lets face it folks, Edward Cullen is in fact a wonderful cause!) Okay, so no on the money, but cross your fingers, rub your lucky trolls or do whatever that brings you good fortune so we will have our dear twi back soon! ;-)**

**Please don't review this because then you wont get to review the real chapter once it goes up! And that would just be sad! **

**And don't worry about the Edwards, I'm gonna take good care of them while she's gone. {wink wink}**

**{Edwards gulp and look around nervously} Hurry back twi!**


	12. TWCS

**_As I'm sure you're all aware FF is deleting stories like crazy and as you all know, I deal with various sensitive subjects within mine so I have a feeling that it's only a matter of time before mine fall victim to the cut._**

**_I'll be posting all of my stories on The Writer's Coffee Shop so if you create an account over there, you can read them all._**

**_I'll be continuing to post updates on here until there comes a time when FF decides it doesn't like me anymore and then they'll still be updated over at TWCS._**

**_I'll be rewriting 'Saving Edward', 'Alive Again' and 'Protecting Him' because I feel like my writing has changed in the three years I've been posting on here so keep an eye out._**

**_This chapter will be replaced with an actual update soon._**

**_See you over there!_**


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